Potted Floral Plants From the Nursery

I wanted to buy a few things like potting soil, cocopeat, vermicompost, neem oil cake, some pots, and so on locally. Went to the first plant nursery I came across as it was quite a hot afternoon, and my sister had no patience to drive to the big one a few miles away. 

Orange Kalanchoe Blooms

They didn't have most of the things I wanted. The potting soil mix came in 25 kg bags which was too much for me, quantity-wise. I did buy loose cocopeat that cost me Rs. 100 for 4 kgs. This was ready to use cocopeat, unlike the compact blocks available online. If you do the math, this worked out much more expensive compared to the online options. Next time, I would like to buy this compact block of cocopeat from Cocogarden as it expands to nearly 75 liters of cocopeat powder. 

I ended up ordering their potting soil mix, which has excellent reviews compared to other potting soil mixes by brands like TrustBasket, IFFCO, Ugaoo, and MahaGro. I've used Ugaoo's potting soil before to plant cherry tomatoes, coriander, and fenugreek(methi). I would say its performance was decent because I never saw the cherry tomatoes, but methi and coriander grew in abundance without much care. 

The nursery didn't have seed trays either, so I ordered this pack of 5 seedlings trays by Kraft Seeds. Each tray has 49 holes adding up to 245 holes in total. Enough for me to germinate 9 pods per flower at the least. Although the reviews for these trays aren't stellar, neither are reviews for other seedling trays available online. Whether it's this colorful set by Kraft Seeds or this pack of 10 seedling trays by Diligent, this pack of two seedling trays by the Home Garden Store, or this set of seedling trays sold by Bio Blooms Agro India Pvt. Ltd, they've got uniformly bad reviews. I just went with the most economical option as the quality of the trays wasn't a criterion under consideration. 

My biggest gripe about the brands I've ordered is the extended delivery time, almost a week to get the soil and the trays to my place; why?

As is the norm, you go out to shop for one thing and end up buying 10 others that were not on the list. Just so, I ended up picking up some potted flower plants from the nursery too. Here's a look at the 11 flower plants I bought and transplanted/re-potted last week. Altogether, they cost me around Rs. 800/-. 

It is recommended that you let a day or three pass before you repot plants bought from the nursery to give them enough time to acclimatize to the new surroundings and prevent them from decaying due to root shock. 

1. Peach Aster

Potted Peach Aster

Honestly speaking, I had no clue what flower it was when I bought it. I had to look up all the flowers on Google Image Search. While a few queries yielded quick results, others required ages of extensive keyword research to zero in on the right nomenclature. 

This plant is almost 100 cm tall and took well to re-potting.  Its flowers are big and pretty but not fragrant.  I bought it for 70 bucks.

Here's a look at a couple of brands that sell mixed-colored Aster seeds online. Most of them do not have good reviews, but seed germination is a tricky process, and your mileage may vary.

1. Heirloom Quality Hybrid Formula Mix Multicolour Flower Aster Seeds - Pack of 50 seeds
2. Dipa Garden Aster Princess Mixed Flower Seeds - Pack of 80 seeds
3. Kraft Seeds Aster Mix 3 in 1 Flower Seed Combo
4. Splendour Seeds - Aster Flower Seeds - Pack of 200 seeds
5. Only for Organic Store Aster Flower Seeds - Pack of 50 seeds; this is the one I'll be using. 

I couldn't find any potted Aster flower pods being sold online, so you'll either have to buy the seeds and germinate them yourself or visit your closest plant nursery to buy an Aster plant in bloom. 

2. Pink Chinese Rose

Potted Pink China Rose

Rosa chinensis or Bengal rose, or Chinese rose (not Hibiscus), is a pretty rose with no fragrance. I'm not sure how well it has taken to the re-potting, but so far, it looks alright. Unlike Aster, there are plenty of options available to buy a bloomed live rose plant online. Here are a few:

M-tech Gardens offers live grafted rose plants in rare colours like Blue Moon Rose, Rare Grafted Black Rose with Red Edges, Rare Grafted Rainbow Rose Live Flower, Grafted Pink White Rose, Grafted Pink Yellow Rose, Purple White Dual Rose Plant, and more. 

You can also buy rose seeds for germination from the following brands:

1. Rare Blue Rose Seeds - Pack of 10 seeds
2. Royal Paradise Garden Mixed Rare Colour Rose Flowers - Pack of 20 seeds
3. Earth Hopper Hybrid Multicolor English Rose Seeds - Pack of 150 seeds
4. NooElec Seeds India Store Mixed Rare Colour Rose Flowers - Pack of 80 seeds

Most of these seeds have terrible reviews, and I personally would not recommend wasting your money, even though they're pretty cheap. If you have some money to spare, and wouldn't mind the minimal efforts required in the germination of seeds, maybe you can give one of these seeds pack a try. I am tempted, not gonna lie!

3. Damascus Rose

Potted Damascus Rose

This plant had a couple of buds and blooms when I bought it. Had to resort to deadheading to get the wilted flowers off and encourage more blooms. So far, it looks alright but is showing a couple of yellow leaves. Although it is supposed to be a fragrant flower, I couldn't smell anything. You can buy both the seeds as well as the live plant for Damascus rose online. Here are a few helpful links.

1. Mphmi Damascus Rose Live Plant
2. Royal Paradise Garden Rare Heirloom Pink Damask Rose Bush Flower Seeds - Pack of 20 seeds

4. Dahlia Royal Purple | Decorative Double Petal Dahlia

Potted Dahlia Venti Royal Purple

I remember the price for this one and the other Dahlia. Both together cost me Rs. 350/-. Bought them for their sheer size - massive blooms. This royal purple decorative Dahlia is thriving, as seen in the picture, and a new bud is blooming already. Didn't transplant it, simply added some cocopeat+vermicompost mix to the pot, placed it in the sun, and that was that. Hopefully, it keeps blooming. You can buy the seeds for this particular color of Dahlia online here:

1. Kraft Seeds Zinnia Dahlia Flowers Mix - Pack of 100 seeds
2. Aero Seeds Dahlia Unwins Hybrid Mix Flower - Pack of 100 seeds
3. Hudgle Punjab Seeds Worlds Dahlia Mixed - Pack of 100 seeds
4. SS GARDEN Dahlia Hybrid Plant Multi Colors - 1 Live Plant in Poly Bag

5. Decorative Edinburgh Dahlia

Potted Decorative Edinburgh Dahlia

This beautiful decorative Dahlia has maroon petals with white tips. Sadly, it didn't take well to the re-potting and is wilting by the day. I'm not sure if I can revive it. I'm waiting for the organic fertilizers I've ordered to see if they can induce regrowth. The internet says you should fertilize the plant 10 days after transplanting, so the timing works out as long as it's not totally dead by then. Although not the same as the Edinburgh Dahlia, here are a few places online besides Amazon, where you can buy Dahlia seeds.

1. Ugaoo Pyramid Seeds Dahlia Seeds
2. nurserylive Figaro Dahlia Mixed Seeds
3. TrustBasket Dahlia Mixed Seeds

6. Wild Pink Geranium | Geranium Maculatum | Pink Cranesbill - Possibly Misidentified

Potted Geranium maculatum Plant | Wild Geranium

Another wilting plant that looks like it's all set to give up its ghost. It's also the flower I'm least sure about the terminology of. I think this is a variety of wild Geranium, a.k.a Geranium maculatum with pink flowers. The leaves definitely resemble pictures available online, but the flowers tend to be lighter in colour. I wasn't able to zero in on another plant that as closely resembled the one I bought. So, for now, until someone corrects me, this is wild Geranium in pink. A wild pink geranium on the verge of death, that is. If you would like to buy this flower's live plant or seeds online, here are some helpful links:

1. nurserylive Geranium maculatum Live Plant
2. Other varieties of Geranium in red, white, orange, etc.
3. nurserylive Pink Geranium Plant
4. M-Tech Gardens Rare Geranium Flower Seeds - Pack of 20 seeds

7. Kalanchoe Flowers

Potted Orange Kalanchoe Blooms

These were the cheapest plants I bought at the nursery. Rs. 50/- each for both the 'Orange Kalanchoe' and the 'Pink Kalanchoe' blooms along with the pots. 

Potted Pink Kalanchoe Blooms

These are succulents that require minimal care. Could have planted both in the same pot if I'd read up on them earlier. I'm planning to buy the Kalanchoe (Ka - lan - ko - ee) in as many colours as possible and plant them together in big pots so they resemble big live bouquets that can brighten up any room. You can buy the live plants and seeds online at the following links:

1. Green Paradise® live flowering Kalanchoe Plant - Set of 3
2. V K GLOBAL Kalanchoe Red Plant
3. Greenursery Imported Kalanchoe Double White Color FLower Live Plant
4. Kalanchoe Flower Seeds

I definitely don't recommend buying Kalanchoe seeds unless you want to grow them from scratch. Nor do I recommend buying these live plants online as you'll get them much cheaper at any local nursery. 

8. Violet Torenia | Wishbone Flower

Potted Violet Torenia

This was another flower that took forever to reveal its actual name. Most online posters have mislabeled it as Violet, which is a different flowering plant altogether. Its real name is Torenia fournieri, and it's popularly known as the Wishbone flower. It also comes in various hues of purple, pink, white and their combinations. 

Unfortunately, this one is mostly dead. The roots of this plant were not very deep, and when taken out for transplanting, the plant above the ground just came apart. A lone stem had managed to stay upright after planting, but it looks like even that's wilting now. 

You can buy Torenia seeds and live plants online at the following links:

1. Bighaat Torenia Seeds
2. SeedsnPots Torenia Kauai Mix Seeds
3. Purple Torenia Live Plant
4. Mphmi White Torenia Live Plant
5. Mphmi Violet Torenia Live Plant
6. Pink Torenia Live Plant

Again, these are more expensive online. I don't think I paid more than a hundred bucks for this plant along with the plastic pot at the nursery.

9. Sweet William Flowers | Dianthus Pink | Dianthus Red

Potted Sweet William Pink Velvet Flowers Plant

I wonder why this didn't take to the transplanting as well as the red one. 

I want to end on a positive note, so here's the thriving red Sweet William plant with new blooms after transplanting.

Potted Sweet William Red Velvet Flower Plant

Some deadheading might be in order to encourage more blooms. I really liked the velvet texture of the petals of this flower. I can't wait to give them the seaweed fertilizer, so they bloom in bunches, as seen in online pictures. Here are a few helpful links to buy Sweet William seeds online.

1. TrustBasket® Sweet William (OP/Desi) Seeds with Free Germination Potting Soil Mix
2. Aero Seeds Sweet William Mix Flower - Pack of 100 seeds
3. Golden Hills Farm® Dianthus Barbatus/Sweet William Flower Mixed Seeds

I didn't have to buy the pots to transplant the pods nor the potting soil because both of these were readily available to me. If you're looking to buy pots, you can check out the wide range of flower pots available on Amazon. 

I also bought vermicompost from the nursery at Rs. 50/kg. Couldn't find the brand online, so here it is.

Sadabahar Vermicompost Booster for Plants

I am not sure of this brand's quality or performance, but it fits in well with my budget constraints, so I went for it with my eyes shut. You can obviously choose one of the well-reviewed brands available online or make your own. 

I'll blog about these plants again once I've had the opportunity to use some proper fertilizers on them and revive the wilting ones. Perhaps, they'll have new blooms in the new pics; we'll see. 

That brings me to the end of this long post. Documenting these things is a far bigger hassle than actually getting the work done. It took me longer to create this post than to buy the plants, transplant them, and click a couple of pictures. Much respect to those who run successful Youtube channels about their hobbies, this is a lot more work than I had fathomed earlier. Phew!!!

Blogger's formatting goes haywire if you try to post two or more images in the same row, so I used Pinetools, a free online tool that helps you play around with images. Use the merge images feature to club two images horizontally - as shown above, or merge them vertically if you so wish.