UAE Planting Calendar: What to Plant Each Month

A UAE planting calendar is a month by month schedule that ties each type of planting to the soil and air temperatures of the Gulf year. This one explains the rule the dates follow, then works through October to December, January to March and April to September, and ends with the two plant groups that break the pattern.

How the Gulf planting calendar works

The Gulf planting calendar follows soil temperature. Roots of most garden plants grow fastest in soil between about 20C and 30C, which UAE beds hold from October to April. Anything that has to establish goes in inside that stretch, and the summer months are left alone.

Air temperature decides the second half of the question. New leaves on a freshly planted shrub can't draw enough water through a root ball that hasn't spread yet, so a 42C afternoon scorches them even when the pot was soaked that morning.

Put those two facts together and every plant gets a window. Trees and shrubs want the longest possible run of cool air before May. Winter annuals want nights under 22C to flower. Heat lovers such as vinca want the reverse, warm soil and rising temperatures.

October to December

October to December is the main planting quarter in the UAE. October takes trees, shrubs and hedges, November takes winter bedding and more shrubs, and December finishes the annual beds and suits roses. Every month here gives roots the full cool season ahead.

October is for trees, hedging shrubs, climbers and ground covers, planted as soon as nights fall below about 28C. It's also the month to sow wildflower mixes and cosmos direct into prepared beds.

November is the bedding month. Petunia, dianthus, snapdragon, alyssum, calendula and salvia go into annual beds and pots, and they'll carry colour through to April.

December suits roses, a second round of bedding for any gaps, and container trees for terraces. Growth is slower now, so new plants need less water than an October planting did.

Trees go first because an October tree gets the longest lead into summer. The same size bought in March starts seven months behind.

January to March

January to March is the second half of the planting season. January and February still suit trees, shrubs and late bedding. March is the last month for any tree or shrub from a container, and the first month for heat loving flowers that will carry colour into June.

January is the coolest month and the gentlest for shrubs moved from pots into open ground. Pansies and violas planted now flower right through to March.

February is the final call for cool season bedding, and a good month to sow zinnia, sunflower and gomphrena in trays for spring beds.

March is the handover month. Plant remaining trees and shrubs in the first two weeks, then switch annual beds to vinca, portulaca, zinnia and gomphrena.

A March planting is possible, but it isn't forgiving. A shrub that goes in during the last week of March gets roughly nine weeks before nights stay above 28C. Put it on drip from the first day and give its west side shade cloth through the first summer.

April to September

April to September is the off season for most planting. April and May take palms, lawns and heat loving flowers from plugs. June to August take almost nothing new, and September is for bed preparation and seed trays ahead of October.

1. April suits vinca and portulaca plugs, and it opens the warm season window for palms and grass.
2. May still suits palms and lawns, but annual beds from seed fail in the heat.
3. June takes a palm only in its first week, and only with daily deep irrigation in place.
4. July is the month to plant nothing. Seeds cook, sod scorches, and a potted tree moved into open ground loses its leaves inside a fortnight.
5. August is the same, plus humidity that brings fungal rot to any wounded root.
6. September is for work in the soil: dig in compost, repair irrigation, and sow petunia and snapdragon in trays in the shade so seedlings are ready for November.

A July planting fails because the heat outruns anything the roots can do. Hold replacements in their pots, in shade, on a drip line, and plant them in October.

Two plant groups that break the pattern

Palms and warm season grasses are the two plant groups that go against the UAE calendar. Both grow roots fastest in warm soil, so they're planted from April to June, when a shrub would struggle, and they establish more slowly if moved in the cool months.

Date palms, Washingtonia and foxtail palms put out new roots from the base of the trunk when the soil is above about 25C. Moved in December, a large palm can sit without new growth until spring. Moved in April or May, it roots in weeks.

Seashore paspalum and Bermuda grass behave the same way. Sod laid from March to May knits into the soil below faster than a December lawn. A second, shorter window opens in late September and October.

Both groups need the same thing in their first summer: water on a fixed daily schedule, with the run time checked every few weeks as the heat climbs. Plants for each window in this calendar can be picked by season from the outdoor plants range.

FAQ

October, March and July are the three months people ask about most, since each one sits on a turning point in the Gulf year. Each short answer below is trimmed down to what actually goes into the ground that month.

What do you plant in October?

Plant trees, hedging shrubs, climbers and ground covers in October, once nights fall below about 28C. It's also the month to sow wildflowers and cosmos direct. Winter bedding waits a few weeks, until November, when nights drop far enough for petunias and snapdragons to flower.

What do you plant in March?

Finish planting container trees and shrubs in the first half of March. Then switch annual beds to heat lovers: vinca, portulaca, zinnia and gomphrena. Any shrub planted late in March needs drip irrigation from day one and shade cloth on its western side.

What should never be planted in July?

Nothing new goes in during July. Seeds cook in the surface layer, sod scorches before it roots, and container trees moved into open ground drop their leaves. Keep replacements in their pots, shaded and on drip, and plant them in October instead.