Choose a plant or a tree, where it grows and in which direction, and this guide shows what the classical texts say, what popular modern Vastu says, and the practical points, in separate rows. Plants are one of the few areas where the Brihat Samhita is definite: it judges four large trees by the side of a house they stand on (53.85), cautions about thorny, milky and fruit trees near a house (53.86), and says to plant good trees between when a troublesome one cannot be removed (53.87). The rules about tulsi, money plants and cactus are a later layer, and the guide says so.
How it works
You choose the plant or tree, whether it grows in the garden of a house, on a balcony or indoors, the direction, and whether it stands close to the house wall, the main door or a path.
For the four trees the verse names, the guide reads the side straight from it. In Iyer’s translation, the plaksha, the banyan, the udumbara and the ashvattha bring misery on the south, west, north and east sides of a house respectively, and prosperity on the north, east, south and west sides. So the banyan is cautioned on the west and favoured on the east, the peepal cautioned on the east and favoured on the west, and so on. The verse names four sides only. For a diagonal the guide names both neighbouring sides and says that the reading is ours.
For a water feature, the guide shows the Brihat Samhita’s verse on a piece of water in each of the eight directions (53.119), with the same wording as the room placement guide. The verses on trees and water are about a house on its own plot, so for a named tree or a water feature on a balcony or indoors the classical row is shown as a note and the verse’s results are not applied.
The modern row follows our two plant pages: tall trees on the south and west of a plot, lighter plants and a lawn on the north and east, tulsi in the east or north-east, the money plant in the south-east, no thorny plants near the entrance or indoors, no bonsai or dry plants indoors, and a water feature in the north-east.
Reading the result
The first line says whether the classical verse favours or cautions the side, if it speaks at all, and whether popular guides agree. The two can disagree: the banyan on the east of a house is favoured by the verse and is not where popular guides put a tall tree. The guide shows both and does not choose.
When the verse cautions a tree, the result also gives the verse that follows it. If such a tree is inconvenient to remove, the Brihat Samhita says to grow superior trees between it and the house, and in Iyer’s translation names seven: punnaga, ashoka, arishta, bakula, panasa, shami and shala (53.87).
Where traditions differ
Our two plant pages record the modern advice slightly differently, and the guide shows the difference. For the money plant, one page gives the south-east or the north and the other gives the south-east alone. For thorny plants, one gives “not near the entrance” and the other “not indoors”. The guide applies each where it fits and names the source.
The verse on thorny, milky and fruit trees (53.86) is reported as the text gives it, without endorsing it. Its caution about fruit trees reads oddly for a tree planted for fruit, and it names no direction. A cactus in a pot is not a tree, so applying the verse to it is an interpretation.
Tulsi deserves a line of its own. It is a devotional household custom, kept in a pot or a raised stand with a lamp at its foot in the evening. We did not find it in the verses read for this site and do not claim a text for it.
What it does not do
It does not say that any plant brings wealth or removes trouble. No verse we read says that a particular plant corrects a layout, and this site recommends no plant as a remedy. It does not tell you to cut a tree: if a tree is unsafe, an arborist, not a consultant, should decide.
It cannot see your soil, your light or your neighbour’s wall. Choose plants for the light you have, keep water from standing, keep large trees away from walls and drains, and check whether a plant is toxic before bringing it in where children or pets live. The plants and the garden page and plants and Vastu say more.
Frequently asked questions
↳ Which trees does the Brihat Samhita say are troublesome near a house?
The plaksha on the south, the banyan on the west, the udumbara on the north and the ashvattha, the peepal, on the east (53.85). On the opposite sides the same verse calls each of them favourable.
↳ Where should tulsi be kept?
Popular guides say the east or north-east, in the light. It is a household custom that we did not find in the verses read for this site. Sun, regular water and a place easy to reach for worship are what matter.
↳ Where should a money plant go?
Popular guides say the south-east, and one of our plant pages adds the north. No text we read mentions it, and this site makes no claim that it brings wealth.
↳ Should I cut a peepal or banyan tree near my house?
Not because of Vastu alone. The Brihat Samhita's advice for a troublesome tree that cannot be removed is to plant good trees between it and the house (53.87). Check that the roots and branches are not a risk to the building.
↳ Are cactus and thorny plants bad in Vastu?
Popular guides advise against them near the entrance or indoors. The classical verse cautions about thorny trees near a house (53.86); a cactus in a pot is a modern extension. Safety near children is the practical point.
↳ What does the verse say about a banyan or peepal in the north-east?
The verse names four sides only. For a diagonal, the guide names what the verse says of the two sides it lies between and marks the reading as ours, instead of inventing a rule.