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1) Preface
This page is intended to share experiences about the care and daily
handling of a Tulasi plant (TULASI DEVI).
The Tulasi plant comes from a sunny and humid climate, which is ideal
for HER growth.
For me the best way to take care of the plant and to get to know HER is
to directly get into contact with HER: talk to HER and feel with HER,
preferably every day. In time this will help you to know intuitively what
SHE likes, what is helpful to HER and what is not. Your relationship with
HER will deepen in a very natural and innocent way.
Whatever you think and do in regards to TULASI DEVI, just try to stay
very natural and normal.
3) Prerequisites
a. Pot/Repotting
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.
Use a high quality dark and loose potting soil mixed with some silica
sand. I had good results with ‘’Compo Sana Kräutererde’’ made by
Compo. This one is already enriched with sand and fertilizer and ideal for
raising and repotting Tulasi.
You can also make your own potting soil out of one third of soil, silica
sand and vegetarian compost each.
c.) 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.
My advice:
Fill the watering can or a spray bottle with water and ask the Divine
Mother to bless the water with Her energy. This will improve the quality
of the water tremendously.
d.) 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 (find a list of resources in chapter 5). 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.
e.) 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.’’
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 (refer to chapter 5).
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:
- Vibhuti
...is sacred ash, which can be given once a month directly on the ground
or mixed into the water.
c. Cleansing
d. Worship / Affection
The more time you spend around Tulasi the more you’ll realize that SHE
is the incarnation of a Goddess. She gives love, protection and a lot of
knowledge. Here are some suggestions of how you can express your
devotion to HER:
- Prostrate
- Thank HER for having come to be with you
- Walk around the plant three times while saying the pradakshina mantra
(see below)
- Pick HER up and hold HER close to your heart
- Give your heart to HER
- Gently kiss HER leaves
- Chant HER 8 sacred names
- Chant HER 108 sacred names
- Chant Tulasi Mantras
- Sing Tulasi´s song
- Do a puja to TULASI DEVI
6. Krishna-jivani („She who is the very life and soul of SRI KRISHNA“)
2. Oṁ nandinyai namaḥ
3. Oṁ devyai namaḥ
4. Oṁ śikhinyai namaḥ
5. Oṁ dhārinyai namaḥ
6. Oṁ dhātryai namaḥ
7. Oṁ sāvitryai namaḥ
8. Oṁ satyasandhāyai namaḥ
9. Oṁ kālahāriṇyai namaḥ
Vrindayai Tulasi-Devyai
Vishnu-bhakti-prade devi
Brahma-hatyadikani cha
Tulasi song:
Namatulasi kalyani
5) Resources
6) Epilog
I want to express my deep gratitude and love to TULASI DEVI for being
able to spend every day with HER. I bow to SRI MATA
AMRITANANDAMAYI DEVI feeling grateful that SHE has opened me to
the experience of TULASI DEVI. I also want to thank my dear friend
Ranjini who translated this page.
With Love
Timo
P.S. Here all information is free. This is my service to the highest truth.
None the less I would be happy if you would give a small donation. You
find the donation accounts which I judge for especially sensible here. Of
course you can also make a donation to an organisation known to you.
Thank you very much ! ! !
TULASI DEVI The care of Tulasi Breeding of Tulasi Contact