This is one of the Tulasi Plants in my garden. It has grown along with a Tomato plant. Actually there were two tomato plants. I pulled one tomato and planted in my neighbour's house. I have many another tulasi plants too. I have placed this one in the south direction.
At best the pot can be made out of thin unglazed potter’s clay. Tulasi doesn´t like slack water or "wet feet" at all. I recommend using rose pots. They are higher than wider and offer enough space for a good drainage and fresh potting soil. Mostly you can find a drainage hole in the middle of the pot. Generally, the size of the pot should be adjusted to the size of the plant. This means, that for a relatively small plant it’s not useful to use a huge pot and vice versa.
Replanting should be done when the plant is growing strongly and its roots need more space. This should be the case when you find the plant having grown higher and wider than its pot is. The new pot could be about two or three sizes bigger as the old one. The best time for repotting is late afternoon since sun light will be less intense at this time. Be careful and cautious when replanting, remembering you are dealing with a very delicate plant.
The inside of the pot should be created as follows:
1. Cover the drainage hole with a coarse meshed plastic grid
2. A good layer of round potter´s clay granules
3. Fresh potting soil
4. Tulasi plant
5. Fill up with fresh potting soil
2. A good layer of round potter´s clay granules
3. Fresh potting soil
4. Tulasi plant
5. Fill up with fresh potting soil
1) Basics: Sensitivity and Tenderness
Treat TULASI DEVI with lots of sensitivity, tenderness and love
because SHE is a very tender, sensitive and pure being: SHE is a Goddess! She doesn’t like smoke (cigarettes, fire smoke) and doesn’t like too much incense smoke either. SHE feels comfortable in a relaxed and peaceful atmosphere.
2) Prerequisites
a) Potting Soil
Use a high quality dark and loose potting soil mixed with some silica sand.
You can also make your own potting soil out of one third of soil, silica
sand and vegetarian compost each.
b.) Water
The most important and difficult fact of good care is to give her enough and good water.
The best thing to do is to check the ground humidity with your fingers
because this will also deepen your connection to the plant and strengthen your intuition about its needs. If the soil is dry then you can water her again. In winter Tulasi needs less water than in summer. Don´t water her so much in winter, so that the soil can stay dry for several days.
Of course you’ll need to only water every six or seven or more days
if the soil contains more clay which will make it less permeable. In this case it is specially important to check the ground with your hands to avoid overwatering. Best is to repot the plant in good soil.
The quality of the water is very important to keep Tulasi healthy.
You fill a watering can with water and leave it at least for one day. After that you throw the water into a bucket with a huge distance, so oxygen can enrich the water. You can do that several times. The best thing is to span a metal grid above the bucket, so more oxygen can enrich the water.You give so much water to the pot until the soil is fully soaked with water and it begins to run out of the drainage hole.
Specially in the summer it is nice to spray Tulasi with water
using a spray bottle to provide optimum humidity to its leaves.
c.) Heat
Tulasi is very heat and cold sensitive. A room that has a constant warm temperature, a greenhouse or indoor greenhouse is best for HER.
You can place HER on a window sill with a heater right under it, provided the heater is on at night too. If not you can set Tulasi on a heating mat, which, at best, is connected to a thermostat to keep temperature at a constant level Especially in the winter it is very important to ensure SHE is kept in a constantly warm place. Optimum ground temperature is around 26° Celsius (78,8° Fahrenheit). Please pay attention to the cold through the window. So create a little space between the window and Tulasi Devi.
In the summer SHE likes being outside in the sunlight for a few hours.
Put HER directly in the sunlight and take HER back inside as soon as the sun starts setting, temperature drops or it gets too windy.
d.) Lighting
Natural lighting:
The brightest place in your home is the best place to grow your Tulasi. To help finding out:
“The sun rises in the East, it’s in the South at midday, it sets in the West,
and it is never found in the North.’’
The best direction is South. East and West would be acceptable.
At a time of intense sun light, it may be needed to move Tulasi slightly off the window or shield it in some other way, since glass can act as a burning glass.
Artificial lighting:
At times of the year with little sunlight such as winter or in regions
with less daylight it is necessary to set up a plant light for Tulasi. There are plant lamps for growing (white/blue light) and for the flowers (yellow/red light). It is advisable to have both to give her the hole visible spectrum. One can get them in nurseries or order it from the internet for relatively little money .
4) Additional Care:
a.) Plucking
Especially with a young plant it is good to pluck each little stem after the
growth of about three to four pairs of leaves counted from the origin of the stem.
Always pluck with your finger nails, don’t use scissors or other tools.
Only if a stem has gotten very strong it is ok to use a tool to cut it.
After just a few days two new sprouts will have developed.
The plucking procedure helps the plant to branch out, to get stronger and fuller.
When flowers start to build it is good to pluck those just where they start growing.
This way the growth of the plant is encouraged and its energy used for the plant itself.
Of course you can leave a few flowers to blossom and build seeds.
Just don’t leave all flowers to blossom
Once the plant is two or three years old, plucking can be reduced.
b.) Fertilization
Applying fertilizer is like feeding the plant. Even the best soil will get depleted of nutrients in time. During the strongest period of growth, which will be spring and summer,
these fertilizers can be given:
- mineral herb fertilizer
...is a liquid fertilizer with all necessary nutrients. It will be served with the normal water.
- Vibhuti
...is sacred ash, which can be given once a month directly on the ground or mixed into the water.
- dried cow dung
...is specially good to use when replanting. Cow dung contains important nutrients and in addition to that it supplies the plant with warmth which is created through the natural process of fermentation and decomposition. In the countryside you can find it on cow paddocks. Make sure to only use cow dung from organic farmers, since organic cow dung will be of much higher quality and not contaminated with pesticides. Mix the cow dung into the new potting soil and let it sit for more than 14 days before you actually use it.
Tulasi will appreciate this extra nutrition with more vitality, stronger growth
and shining leaves.
c. Cleansing
Tulasi likes it when everything above grounded will be cleaned up at odd times.
Particularly it is very advisable to prevent diseases. Take a natural soap without any artificial additives (for example Chandrika soap), create a relatively thin lukewarm soapy water mixture and fill it into a spray bottle. Sitting on a chair, one discovers his lap with a plastic tarp or a plastic bag and puts the pot on the side. Holding in one hand the entire above grounded plant so that She does snap in case of following water stress. Now sprinkle the trunk, branches and leaves some time with the water-soap mixture. Then you take a second spray bottle with pure water and spray HER once again. Wait a bit with putting HER up until most of the water has drained.  
Tips to Keep Tulsi Healthy While Growing Indoors
The most common problems to look for regularly are:
Symptoms of over watering:
*Tips or the center of her leaves turn brown or black
*In an advanced case of “root-rot” , whole branches or whole plant
will be look wilted (this can be misunderstood as needing more water)
*make sure she is in a pot that has good draining� indoor� potting soil
with a slightly larger draining tray under her.
*When watering, water thoroughly until water comes out the bottom of the pot.
Do not water her again until her pot becomes very light weight. This gives her roots some time to get some oxygen in the soil while she is almost dry. When her pot becomes very light to lift and she may even slightly wilt, water her thoroughly again until water drains from the bottom into the drain tray underneath her. Note: Do not let extra water sit in her tray, once she has drained the excess water, empty the tray so she can begin to dry properly and not create �root-rot� or mold developing in tray or surface of her soil.
Symptoms of Spider Mites:
She becomes very pale and when you look on the underside of her leaves,
you will see a white matter coating along the main viens of the leaf. (these are the small spider eggs) Also, if you look carefully with a glass, you may see microscopic spiders crawling on the back of these leaves. If you hold the leaf up to the light, it will appear to have light speckles. If left untreated, it will spread and she will soon perish. Note: So, remember to buy a magnifying glass if you don�t have.
Symptoms of Fungus or Powdery Mildew:
When daily checking Tulsi, if you notice any white powdery or fuzzy patches on the upper side of her leaves, this means she has been attacked by mildew. If left untreated, it will quickly spread to the whole plant and she will not survive. .
Also make sure the room where she is not cool or damp but
warm 70-80 degrees, with good circulation. Also: DO NOT wet or spray her leaves with plain water except on the hottest days of summer. Any other time of year, it will cause fungus to grow.
Symptoms of Not Enough Sunlight or Grow-lights:
Tulsi plants thrive in the sunlight.She needs 12-14 hours a day of good
sunlight or grow-lights. Some people say that they keep her next to a window, still she is so week. To them I again say that unless it�s a South -facing window without trees around to cause shade, simply daylight from any other facing window is not enough�not enough in the summer and definitely not enough in the fall, winter and early spring. In fact, in winter, you cannot put her too close to a window as it is too cold and she will suffer and exhibit those frost bitten symptoms. We strongly advise that you do not take a Tulsi plant home to worship without investing in a proper grow light.
Reminder: Whether she is near a window in summer or under lights,
remember to turn her pot every few days so that she will grow symmetrically on all sides. Otherwise she will grow only on the side facing the light.
Note: Buy a thermometer and keep it close to where Tulsi is situated.
Try to keep the temperature in the room always between 70-80 degrees F or 23-25 degrees C.. (day and night)
Remember, she is sacred and very dear to Lord Krishna.
It would be an offence (Aparadha) not to give her the proper respect. So, pick out a suitable place in your home before you decide to bring a Tulsi plant home.
Transplanting or Re-potting Tulsi:
Once Tulsi has outgrown her pot and becomes �root-bound�,
her growth will slow down or stop, it is time to put her in a larger pot. Making sure there are good drainage holes at the bottom of the new pot. Cover those holes with a curved or dome shape piece of broken clay pot. Then fill the pot with about 2 inches of gravel or rocks (about the size of a dime or a nickel in diameter) for good drainage . Press the sides of the pot Tulsi is presently in, Turn her on the side, and slowly slide her out being careful not to disturb her roots. Remove carefully any rocks at the bottom of her “root ball” and any extra soil that comes off easily with disturbing her roots. Place her on the soil in the new pot and fill in all around her with new soil. Be sure not to place her lower in the pot than she was previously and cover her at the same level as before. Water her thoroughly. Make sure to have a drain tray under her that it a little bigger than the pot. Empty any excess water from the tray. Keep her away from bright light for a few days to give her roots a chance to adjust and then you can put her back to her light source and she will flourish.
Fertilizing: As Tulsi grows, she uses up all the nutrition (nitrogen etc.) in her soil.
Thus, you have to replace those nutrients in order for her to be green and healthy. A sign that she is getting low on nutrients is you will notice her leaves are all becoming a pale yellow instead of green. So, to prevent this, it is recommended you fertilize her every two weeks during the spring and summer (as she grows faster at those times) and maybe once a month during fall and winter when her growth is less.) You can use aged cow dung (never used fresh cow dung as it will burn her roots) Mix 3 parts water with one part cow dung soaked overnight, or The best way is to water her thoroughly the day before and then mix the fertilizer as recommended and water her with that the next day. Giving her Fertilizer when she is too dry can affect or burn her roots as she is very sensitive.
REMINDER: Diseased leaves cannot be offered, but should be buried in the ground
outside in a special place you choose.
REMEMBER: do the following once or twice daily:
If any one likes to have a sapling , you can collect it from house now.Call 7358552372
I stay in trichy.
sangeetha
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