March-April is the best time to plant kathgolap (frangipani), but it can still be planted now. The tree flowers all year round. You can buy one from a nursery and plant it in a pot, or grow a new plant from seed or from a stem cutting.

Loam soil suits the plant. Prepare the potting mix with 70 per cent soil and 30 per cent organic fertiliser. Keep a drainage hole in the bottom of the pot and cover it with a broken piece of clay pot before planting.

A stem cutting planted in fresh soil will put out new leaves within 15 days. If sowing seed, soak it in water a day beforehand. Make sure the soil is not high in nitrogen: too much nitrogen brings lots of leaves, but the plant will not flower easily.

Choose a slightly larger pot for kathgolap. When new leaves start to appear, sprinkle a little super phosphate or urea around the edge of the pot, not near the roots. Do not overwater, but water the pot regularly. Keep the pot where it gets sun, light and air.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.