Hi ....This is Farhan a new gardener!

[mirafzalkhan]

Welcome to the forum Farhan , very glad to see another active member, you have a large space for gardening. Our senior member Umar Khan from Mardan will help you most because he knows the area very well and have good contacts. Sooner he will also reply your post.
Brig. Sb. little confused, are you served in Army & PAF both?

[Farhan Ahmed]

@ MirAfzalkhan.....thanks......Insha Allah will get in touch with Mr Umar

[Muhammad Arif Khan]

Hello Confused friends.
I am a medical man and have held two commissions, 31 years of Army and 27 years of PAF. Army addresses me as Brigadier and PAF as Air Commodore.
Army being the senior service the protocol demands that in general I be addressed as Brigadier.
Brigadier (Rtd)/Air Cdre (Rtd) Dr. M Arif Khan Would be correct but funny.

[Izhar]

.. but we regard you as our teacher ...a rank from which a person never retires..

[UMARKHANMARDAN]

Aoa & welcome Farhan to the community of gardeners.I m from Mardan,so i think the most near member to Risalpur.if you need any kind of help you can ask me brother.if you want to know about good nurseries you can ask.if you want to know about fertilizer & pesticides shops i am here.the chandituf you mentioned is local name(mali,s) for Candy tuft.the other is for Holly hocks.Roses are available these days if you want.but i,l suggest annuals for you.

[UMARKHANMARDAN]

Brigd sb your are our teacher in gardening.i really benefited from your exper that you share with us.another thing is that my father is also a Dr and retired Army man.he was also in PAF for some time.so i have great respect for you.

[Farhan Ahmed]

@ UmarKhanMardan ....W/S..thanks....Would love to have your advise regarding pesticides and fertilizers required/available in this area.......and most importantly soil.....what i have gathered by now is that soil here is sandy, fertile but very thirsty..meaning by good drainage but would require lot of water in summer heat......what are your views?.....

[UMARKHANMARDAN]

Yes the soil is very fertile but Alkaline.so if you are going plant some plants which needs acidic soil you have to make efforts.pesticides & fertilizers are easily available.the climate is very fit for roses & annuals.in summer garden needs to be watered in the morning and then again in the evening.the winters are cool so we protect half hardy annuals under plastic sheets.the summers are very hot specially Risalpur is very hot & dry.i use to purchase trees & evergreens from a local nursery at Rashakie.i purchase hybrid annual seedlings from Islamabad.

[Farhan Ahmed]

Watering twice would take a toll on water supply ...my neighbors wont be happy .......recommend some outlet for fertilizers nearby....especially for NPK....and is there a general purpose NPK for the annuals....(it would be difficult to cater for different ratios for different plants).....what do you recommend for alkaline soil treatment?

[UMARKHANMARDAN]

I use NPK 20,20,20.many annuals do not need Acidic soil.but if you are growing plants like Gardenias or roses you need some soil condrs.i usually use I C I soil condr.i usually purchase pesticides & fertilizers from Ahmad traders.there are many but he is trusted one.his products are very good.DAP & urea is also available easily here.the ratio of NPK is different for diff plants but 20,20,20 i am telling you for general purpose use.plus also use micro nutrients liquid fertilizers for best results.i can not for get the roses in PAF academy.once there were mass plantings of roses in separate colors in PAF academy.the major problem in risalpur is the hard water.
Do remember Cinerarea is not a shade loving annual.this is disinformation spread by the nursery men.if you want a real shade loving annual then Mimulus is for you.pansy is also a good choice for partial shade.