Q. My aim is to beautify my house with plants and I have already built up a large collection. Now I want to add flowering climbers and creepers on the rooftop. Please suggest some flowering ones suitable for growing in Gujranwala.

A. There are many beautiful flowering climbers and creepers that are suitable for growing in Gujranwala, but whether they will grow on your rooftop is quite a different matter. Important details relative to this include the following: is the rooftop totally exposed to full sun throughout the day or is it shaded by adjacent buildings for part of the day? Is the rooftop on a single or double storey building or even higher? How windy is the rooftop? Does the rooftop have an encircling wall and, if so, of what height? What kind of support will these climbers and creepers have? Has an architect checked out the load-bearing capacity of the roof and has it been waterproofed? What size is the roof area? All of the aforesaid points need to be given serious consideration before you invest in climbers and creepers suitable for the specific rooftop. It is not possible to give any serious recommendations without access to all pertinent information but the following are possibilities: jasmine, Tecoma grandiflora (trumpet vine), passion flower vines, grape vines, bougainvillea, climbing/rambling roses, Solanum seaforthianum (potato creeper), Solandra maxima, garlic vine, Thunbergia grandiflora, Allamanda, Sandwich island creeper, Rangoon creeper, Bignonia and ipomoea varieties.

Q. I have a 20-year-old sharifa tree in my garden in Defence area, Karachi. It used to give about 30 fruits each summer but, about five years ago, this decreased to about 10 fruits per season. It still flowers profusely but the majority of the flowers fall off before fruit sets in. The tree looks healthy. Someone suggested that I feed the tree with potash. Please advise.

A. Summer temperatures in Karachi have been especially high over the last five years and these high temperatures adversely affect sharifa pollination; this could very well be the reason for low fruit crops. Obviously, nothing can be done about these rising temperatures, but you can ensure that the tree has sufficient water throughout its flowering and fruiting season by watering, in the evening, every three or four days. This regular watering will help the tree in two ways: it will always have water to drink and will increase humidity levels, as high humidity assist pollination. In addition, forget the potash and feed the tree with 20 kilos of old, well-rotted, preferably organic, manure at three monthly intervals all round the year. Simply spread the manure, on the soil surface, around — but not in direct contact with — the trunk of the tree. The manure will slowly, over a period of time, be taken down into the soil by the actions of industrious insects, watering and weathering. Correctly watered and amply fed, the tree should get back into full fruit production.

Q. I recently saw a rooftop garden that has evolved into virtually a living space. Now I, too, have become fixated on turning the rooftop of my house in Lahore into a garden as well. Can you give me any ideas how to go about it?

All your gardening queries answered here

A. Please refer to the answer to the first question. Additionally, a column dedicated to rooftop gardening will appear in the —not too — distant future.

Q. Is there any complete guide book on how to make a rooftop garden?

A. See above for information please.

Q. I cannot find seed for garden thyme in Faisalabad. Can you please tell me where to get it, as I want to grow it for research purposes?

A. Thyme seed shouldn’t be difficult to track down, in seed supply shops, at this time of year or in autumn in your area. Failing this, do an online search for Pakistan-based seed suppliers — there are a few — one of whom should be able to send you the seeds you need.

Q. There is a five-year-old guava tree in my garden in Defence, Karachi. Due to good rains last summer, the tree looked very healthy and it set a lot of fruit in September. The problem, however, was that when the fruit ripened, it was full of white insects and was inedible. How should I prevent this from happening again?

A. The insects are the notorious fruit fly larvae. How to prevent fruit fly attacks was discussed in this column dated January 5, 2020, which is easy to find on the internet. How to protect fruit from pest attacks will also be discussed next week.

Please continue sending your gardening queries to zahrahnasir@hotmail.com. Remember to include your location. The writer does not respond directly by email. Emails with attachments will not be opened.

Published in Dawn, EOS, February 2nd, 2020