Q. Could you please enlighten me as to in which parts of Pakistan can maple syrup be farmed? My wild guess is Murree, Abbottabad and maybe parts of Azad Kashmir.

A. Maple trees, from which maple syrup is harvested, are indigenous in Pakistan, and are common throughout the Murree hills, around Abbottabad, in Hunza, Gilgit, Skardu, Chitral and Swat. As far as I know, there has not yet been any commercial attempt at harvesting their sweet sap for processing it into maple syrup.

Q. I planted two lagerstroemia trees in my garden at Bahria Town, Karachi. It has been two years now, but they are still not growing well. During the summer, their leaves are frequently eaten by caterpillars that I control by spraying.

A. I suspect soil nutrition is, quite literally, at the root of the problem. Plants, like people, require nourishment if they are to grow and thrive. I suggest that you feed your trees, once every six months, by mulching around (but not in direct contact with) their trunks with a layer, say of 4-6 inches, of old, completely rotted down animal manure. Supported by regular watering and the actions of insects and microbes, this manure will slowly disappear into the soil below, feeding the trees in the process. If you cannot access good quality manure, use organic compost instead. You should begin to notice a difference in 3-6 months after the first application.

Q. I planted red lilies, both directly in the garden and in pots, more than a year ago in Karachi. They are growing well with shiny leaves but they have not yet flowered. What can I do?

A. All you can do is to be patient and wait. The bulbs, probably amaryllis, must not have been of flowering size when you planted them. It can take at least 3 years for relatively small amaryllis bulbs to grow and accumulate enough energy to flower. Once they begin flowering though, they are gorgeous and well worth the wait.

All your gardening queries answered here

Q. I had a good collection of orchids and air plants but, for unknown reasons, they all slowly dried up and died. Can you tell me why this may be and what can be done to avoid it happening again if I get some more? I reside on the outskirts of Karachi.

A. Both orchids and air plants need a humid atmosphere in which to grow and there are times when the atmosphere here becomes too dry for them. During such dry periods, it is essential to lightly spray/mist orchids and air plants with warm water on a daily basis, usually when the sun is going down. If the weather is exceptionally dry, you will need to spray/mist around dawn as well. I can only presume that you weren’t aware of the need to do this.

Q. Please guide me on how to grow avocado plants from seeds, in Karachi.

A. There are two easy methods. 1) Fill a 10-inch clay pot with top quality, organic compost. Insert one seed, rounded side down, slightly pointed side up, until three quarters of the seed is below the compost surface and one quarter remains exposed. Stand the pot in partial shade and water well. It is best to water daily in the evening, never allowing the compost to dry out. The top of the exposed section of the seed will eventually crack open and the first leaf of a new avocado tree will emerge. This can take anywhere from 1-6 months. Water the sapling daily until it is growing strongly. Then you can reduce watering to every other day from spring until autumn and just once a week in winter. 2) Balance a seed in the mouth of a wide-necked bottle, holding it in place using toothpicks. Fill the container up with water until the water level is just below, but not touching, the avocado seed and maintain this water level. Roots should begin appearing on the seed within a week or two. Shortly afterwards, a leaf sprout will emerge from the crack in the seed. Grown from seed, avocado trees rarely produce fruits of any recognisable merit and may take as long as 10 years to do even this. Avocado saplings bought from nurseries, on the other hand, have usually been grafted and can be had in production a mere 3-4 years down the line, but the Karachi climate is not really suitable.

Q. I have just started with 16 rose plants in the middle of my east-open lawn in Defence, Karachi. Only two are desi, while the rest are hybrid variety. Kindly guide me how to take care of them.

A. Please follow the links below for full information about growing roses:

https://www.dawn.com/news/1601739/gardening-rose-the-queen-of-flowers

https://www.dawn.com/news/1602829/gardening-roses-by-any-other-name

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, March 27th, 2022