Down to Earth: Dr Satish Narula

There is a wide variety of plants in the market. Among them,there are various varieties available. The accompanying picture is that of a type of maranta. I know the gardeners are usually familiar with the common type — the one with green leaves and grey or deep brown bands. The one in the picture has a different band pattern and leaf type. The beauty of this type is that it bears sky blue bold flowers everyday that vanish at night. The plant dies in the winters but reappears with the onset of spring. The plant is so hardy that even a fraction of its root may give rise to another plant. It may live even when forgotten after the winters and it reappears when watered.

There are black caterpillars with yellow and red spots on my lily plants. They are eating the plants very fast. What are these and how can I control them?

Harpreet Singh,Chandigarh

By description the insects are butterfly larvae that appear on zephyranthes lily. Spray rogor,dissolved at one millilitre to a litre of water.

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Can I prune my roses now? What is the best time to do so?

Rakesh Kumar,Panchkula

Wait for some more days and do it in the first week of October.

Am I too late in multiplying schefflera? What is the best way of multiplying it?

Manish Sharma,Chandigarh

No,you can do it now. This year there has been extended monsoon,so go ahead without losing any more time.

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Can I plant kinnow and sweet orange now? Which is the best source to get good plants?

Roshan Lal,Mohali

Yes,this is the best time to plant kinnow and sweet orange. The plants can be obtained from Punjab Agriculture University where you can get virus-free kinnow plants.

For gardening queries ask Dr Green at satishnarula@yahoo.co.in