Highlighted Shrub Species for Your Flora Array

Highlighted Shrub Species for Your Flora Array

In the heart of India's bustling cities, creating a lush and colourful garden can be a challenge due to limited space and the country's unique climate. However, with the right choices, it is possible to cultivate low-maintenance shrubs that thrive in these conditions, offering both colour and greenery. Here are ten such shrubs suitable for Indian homes, along with guidance on where to purchase them.

### Top 10 Low-Maintenance Shrubs for Color and Greenery

1. **Marigold (Tagetes)** - With its bright yellow and orange flowers, marigolds are an easy-to-grow, drought-tolerant shrub that also offers the added benefit of acting as a mosquito repellent. Ideal for pots, balconies, and flower beds, marigolds are a popular choice during Indian festivals and pujas.

2. **Hibiscus** - Known for its vibrant blooms in multiple colours, hibiscus thrives in pots or as hedges and requires only balanced fertiliser monthly. Reaching heights of 1–2.5 meters, hibiscus is a beautiful addition to any garden.

3. **Periwinkle (Sadabahar)** - Heat and drought-tolerant periwinkle plants produce pink, white, or purple flowers and are ideal for ground cover or small pots. With low water and maintenance needs, periwinkle is a versatile choice for Indian homes.

4. **Portulaca (10 O’clock Flower)** - This shrub boasts bright, colorful flowers that open in the morning sun and has thick leaves that store water, making it perfect for dry conditions. Suitable for rock gardens or hanging baskets, portulaca requires very little watering.

5. **Gaillardia (Blanket Flower)** - With striking red and yellow petals, gaillardia loves full sun and heat, making it great for mass planting or mixed beds. Once established, it is low maintenance.

6. **Desert Rose (Adenium)** - This shrub produces pink and white trumpet-shaped flowers and is tolerant of drought and minimal watering. It can be grown in pots or as bonsai indoors or outdoors, and requires minimal pruning.

7. **Lavender** - Known for its purple flowers and soothing fragrance, lavender thrives in different soil types and is low maintenance and drought-tolerant.

8. **Jasmine (Mogra, Juhi, Chameli)** - Star-shaped white or yellow flowers with a sweet scent, jasmine is a sun-loving shrub suitable for pots or hanging baskets. It has low watering needs once established.

9. **Stonecrop (Sedum)** - This succulent shrub features structural foliage and pink/red flowers in summer. It thrives in full sun and rocky, well-drained soils and requires very low watering and feeding.

10. **Daylily** - With arching leaves and massed flowers in many colours, daylilies are tolerant of drought and various soil types. They require minimal feeding for continuous blooms.

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### Where to Purchase these Shrubs in India

- **Local nurseries and garden centres** - Most cities in India have specialized nurseries that stock common ornamentals and shrubs like marigold, hibiscus, jasmine, and desert rose. - **Online plant nurseries** - Popular online platforms such as Ugaoo, NurseryLive, and PlantsGuru offer a wide range of shrubs and ornamental plants with home delivery across India. - **Garden departments in large retail stores** - Stores like Home Centre, Amazon India (garden section), and Flipkart also stock potted shrubs and flowering plants.

For succulents like stonecrop and desert rose, specialized succulent or bonsai nurseries online or in metropolitan areas are good options.

By choosing from this list, you can enjoy a colorful, vibrant garden with minimal watering and care, suited to the Indian climate and your home environment.

- Gardenia Ananta thrives on windowsills, near doors, and patios. - Morpankhi, also known as oriental thuja, is an evergreen plant with reddish-brown bark, growing between 10 to 200 feet tall and blooming in November and December. - Tagar Variegated is a flowering plant with white flowers, also known as crepe jasmine. - Peacock Plant grows best outdoors in humidity and warm temperatures.

1. If you're looking for marigolds, hibiscus, jasmine, or desert rose, consider visiting local nurseries or garden centers in your city, which often stock common ornamentals and shrubs.
2. For those seeking succulents like stonecrop or desert rose, specialized succulent or bonsai nurseries, either online or in metropolitan areas, are good options.
3. If you're shopping online, popular platforms like Ugaoo, NurseryLive, and PlantsGuru offer a wide range of shrubs and ornamental plants with home delivery across India.
4. Large retail stores such as Home Centre, Amazon India (garden section), and Flipkart also stock potted shrubs and flowering plants.
5. To create a vibrant and colorful garden, consider incorporating plants like Gaillardia, Lavender, Portulaca, and Daylily along with these shrubs, as they are low-maintenance and thrive in various soil types and conditions, making them ideal for Indian homes and gardens.

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