Winter Flower Seed Bundle — 10 Packets

Ten packets of winter flowering seeds — everything you need to fill a Pakistani garden with colour from December through to April, in one bundle at one price.

Chosen so the season never has a gap: marigolds open first, dianthus and petunia carry the cold months, and carnation, dahlia and cosmos take the display into spring. Suitable for garden beds, borders, rooftop and balcony pots.

What is in the bundle

• African Marigold (Genda) — tall stems, large dense heads
• French Marigold (Jaffari) — compact, bushy, flowers nonstop
• Salvia — upright scarlet spikes, loved by sunbirds
• Carnation — clove-scented, long stems for cutting
• Dianthus — low mounds that flower for months
• Dahlia — large showy blooms, the centrepiece of a spring bed
• Gazania — daisy-like, thrives in full sun and poor soil
• Helichrysum (Strawflower) — dries hard and keeps its colour for years
• Petunia — continuous colour in pots, baskets and window boxes
• Cosmos — airy and tall, one of the best cut flowers of the season

When to sow in Pakistan

• Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan, Sialkot: mid-September to end October
• Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar: September to mid-October
• Karachi and coastal Sindh: October to November
• Murree, Swat, Quetta and northern valleys: February to March

How to sow — the one rule that decides your results

Not every seed is covered the same way, and getting this wrong is the most common reason a packet fails.

• Sow on the surface, do not cover: Petunia, Salvia, Helichrysum. These need light falling on them to germinate.
• Cover lightly, 3 to 5 mm: African Marigold, French Marigold, Carnation, Dianthus, Dahlia, Cosmos.
• Cover completely: Gazania, which germinates in darkness.

Water the pot before sowing rather than after, then mist or water from below so the fine seed is not washed away. Most of these are up within 7 to 14 days.

Delivery

Flat Rs 250 anywhere in Pakistan, free on orders over Rs 3,500, and free delivery inside Lahore. Order the Winter Vegetable Seed Bundle alongside this one and your delivery is free.

The Garden by Chanan Din — seed merchants in Lahore since 1932.