See workshops
Leaves in morning light
A plant school in Chiang Mai

Learn to grow things that last in a tropical climate.

Most plant advice online was written for a cold country with six hours of daylight in winter. This is written for here: heat, monsoon, hard afternoon sun and a balcony the size of a door.

Join a workshop Read the plant guide
68plants in the guide
410people taught since 2019
฿900a half day workshop
Start here

Three ways in, depending on what you want.

01

I have killed everything

Six plants that survive being forgotten, and the two mistakes behind most dead houseplants. Start with light, not water.

The forgiving six →
02

I want to eat what I grow

Herbs and chillies do well on a hot balcony. What to plant now, what to leave until the rain stops, and how much sun each one really needs.

Edible plants →
03

I want to be taught properly

A weekend workshop, hands in soil, twelve people at a time. You go home with three plants you propagated yourself.

Workshop dates →
Plant guide

Sixty eight plants, written from growing them here.

Every entry says what it actually needs, what it looks like when it is unhappy, and whether it is worth the trouble. Six of them are below.

Sweet basil

Sweet basil

Easy

Horapha

Pinch the tips every week and it will keep going for a year. Let it flower and it stops.

Light
Full sun
Water
Every day
Monstera

Monstera

Easy

Cheese plant

Holes only come with age and light. A young plant with whole leaves is normal, not sick.

Light
Bright shade
Water
Twice a week
Thai chilli

Thai chilli

Medium

Prik kee noo

Stops fruiting in a pot under 20 cm. Give it depth and it will feed you for two years.

Light
Full sun
Water
Every day
Fern, bird's nest

Fern, bird's nest

Easy

Kut

Water the soil, never the centre. Water sitting in the crown is what rots them.

Light
Deep shade
Water
Keep damp
Lemongrass

Lemongrass

Easy

Takhrai

One stalk from the market, in a glass of water, roots in nine days. That is the whole trick.

Light
Full sun
Water
Twice a week
Orchid, dendrobium

Orchid, dendrobium

Hard

Kluai mai

Bark, not soil. Most orchids die of kindness, drowned in a pot that holds water.

Light
Bright shade
Water
Once a week

Nothing matches that filter yet. The full guide has sixty eight entries.

Workshops

Twelve people, one table, hands in soil.

Held at the garden in Mae Rim. Tools, soil and plants are included. Bring a hat.

Cancel up to seven days before and we move you to another date. Under seven days we can pass your place to someone on the list.

The garden at Mae Rim
Who teaches

Fourteen years of growing things in this climate, including the failures.

Rooted started as a notebook of what worked in one rented courtyard in Chiang Mai. The advice here is not translated from a gardening book written in England. It comes from plants that lived, and plenty that did not.

Mali Sooksan
Founder, Rooted

I had killed four monsteras before this. The one from the workshop is still alive two years later and has put out nine leaves.

Ploy, balcony garden course

Clear, no mysticism, no miracle fertiliser to buy at the end. She just tells you what the plant needs.

Daniel, propagation day
One letter a month

What to plant this month, and what to leave alone.

Sent on the first Saturday. Short, seasonal, and written for this climate. No sponsored plant food.

This is a demo, so nothing is sent yet. On a live site this list lives in your own account, not ours.

Green hills after rain