# Broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica)

Canonical: https://plantguide.ae/plants/broccoli · Updated: 2026-10-29
Source: Plant Guide (https://plantguide.ae/plants/broccoli)

Broccoli · بروكلي  
vegetable · exotic · family Brassicaceae · grows 0.5–0.8 m tall, 0.4–0.7 m wide · moderate growth  
sun to part shade · moderate water need  
Ratings for Dubai (1–5, 5 is best): heat 1 · salt 2 · drought 1 · shade 2 · ease of care 2  
Sow or plant: Oct–Dec  
Uses: edible, container

## Also known as

- **English:** Calabrese broccoli
- **Botanical synonyms:** *Brassica oleracea Italica Group*
- **Arabic (العربية):** بروكلي
- **Hindi (हिन्दी):** ब्रोकली (Broccoli)
- **Urdu (اردو):** شاخ گوبھی (Shakh gobhi)
- **Malayalam (മലയാളം):** ബ്രോക്കൊളി (Broccoli)
- **Tamil (தமிழ்):** பச்சை பூக்கோசு (Pachai pookosu)
- **Tagalog:** Brokoli
- **Bengali (বাংলা):** ব্রকলি (Brokoli)
- **Persian (فارسی):** کلم بروکلی (Kalam broccoli)

A slow, rewarding winter brassica: plant out from October to December, cut the main head from January to March, then pick side shoots, before the warming days make it bolt and turn bitter.

## About

Meet broccoli, the long-haul vegetable of the Dubai winter. Seed started in a tray in October becomes a bed of blue-green, waxy-leaved plants by December, and in January a tight green head forms at the centre of each one.

Its character is solid, hungry and a little slow. It wants rich soil, steady water and a few hours' shade as the weather warms, and it rewards that with a main head, then a second and third round of smaller side shoots through the cool months.

What it brings is the satisfaction of growing something that looks like a small tree and tastes better for being cut fresh. Plant it in October or November, keep the caterpillars off, and it is a staple until March.

Broccoli is the centrepiece of a winter brassica bed. BBC Good Food Middle East's UAE guide gives October to November for broccoli, and the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment's calendar, which does not list broccoli itself, gives its close relatives in the same species, cabbage and cauliflower, nursery sowing from September to December and field planting from October to December. Gulf News' guide lists broccoli among the cool-weather crops, planted towards the end of November or early December. UF/IFAS gives 80 to 100 days from transplanting to harvest, so seed started in October and planted out in November is cut from January to March.

Heat is the deadline. UF/IFAS says broccoli is a cool-season crop that should mature before warm weather arrives, and that rising temperatures cause bolting, when the flowers in the head begin to open. Broccoli that has bolted becomes quite bitter. Dubai's mean high is 35.9°C in October, 30.7°C in November, 24 to 27°C from December to February and 28.9°C in March. Gulf News' guide says cool-weather crops flourish between 10 and 18°C and need consistent moisture and some shade, so give plants afternoon shade as March warms, and plan to be done by April.

Broccoli is a hungry, thirsty crop. UF/IFAS advises 1 to 2 inches of water a week in heavy soakings, mulch, a 6-8-8 fertiliser at planting and regularly through the season, a soil pH of 6.2 to 6.5, and four to six hours of sun a day. Cut the main head first; the plant then keeps producing side shoots, which can also be harvested. FAO rates broccoli as moderately sensitive to salt, with a threshold of 2.8 dS/m, better than carrot or bean, so use mains water and a low-salinity soil mix. Arizona desert data show diamondback moths arriving on the wind each autumn to infest brassicas, and aphids peaking in winter.

## Through the year

Broccoli runs one long winter season. Seed is sown in trays in October and November and seedlings are planted out from October to December, with young plants kept shaded and moist. The plants grow through the cool weeks while caterpillars, aphids and whiteflies need watching from November to March. The main head is ready 80 to 100 days after planting out, so cutting runs from January to March, followed by side shoots. By March and April, as the average high climbs from 29°C to 34°C, plants bolt and turn bitter, and the bed is cleared.

| When | What | Note |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Oct–Nov | Sow: Sow seed in trays | BBC Good Food Middle East: October–November. The Ministry gives cabbage and cauliflower nursery sowing September–December; start in shaded trays while October is still hot. |
| Oct–Dec | Plant: Plant out seedlings | Ministry calendar for cabbage and cauliflower: field planting October–December; Gulf News: plant from late November. Mulch the bed and shade young plants. |
| Nov–Mar | Pest watch: Caterpillars, aphids and whitefly | Arizona desert data: diamondback moths infest brassicas each autumn, whiteflies arrive in the fall and aphids peak in winter. UF/IFAS lists cabbage white caterpillars. |
| Jan–Mar | Harvest: Cut the main head, then side shoots | UF/IFAS: 80–100 days from transplanting. Cut the main head first and the plant keeps producing side shoots. |
| Mar–Apr | Heat stress: Bolting and bitterness | UF/IFAS: rising temperatures cause bolting, and bolted broccoli turns quite bitter. Dubai's mean high is 28.9°C in March and 33.7°C in April. |

## Care in Dubai

- **Watering in summer:** Not grown in summer; seed is started in October.
- **Watering in winter:** UF/IFAS: 1 to 2 inches of water a week, in heavy soakings rather than light sprinklings. Use a drip line finishing before 8 am (DEWA) and mulch to hold moisture.
- **While establishing:** Keep seed trays damp, and water seedlings every day after planting out, with light shade until they root in. Gulf News says broccoli prefers constantly moist soil.
- **Soil:** A raised bed of sweet soil enriched with composted manure, with a pH of 6.2 to 6.5 (UF/IFAS), free-draining, in sun or part shade. Do not use the garden's salty sand on its own.
- **Feeding:** UF/IFAS: a 6-8-8 fertiliser at planting and then regularly through the season, either liquid or controlled-release.
- **Pruning:** Cut the main head with a clean cut when the buds are tight and before they open, then leave the plant to produce side shoots (UF/IFAS).
- **Planting:** Sow in trays in October and November, plant out from October to December in a sunny bed with room to spread, mulch and keep young plants shaded. Rotate beds each year.
- **Pests and problems:** Diamondback moth caterpillars; Cabbage white caterpillars; Aphids; Whitefly; Black rot
- **Toxicity:** Broccoli is a normal food for people. The ASPCA's plant list for dogs has no entry for broccoli plants, so we make no claim about pets chewing the plant. Keep dogs and cats out of the bed.

## Good and bad

**Pros**
- Cut the main head, then side shoots keep coming (UF/IFAS)
- A true cool-season crop: plant October–December, pick January–March
- Needs only four to six hours of sun a day (UF/IFAS)
- Moderately salt tolerant for a brassica: FAO threshold 2.8 dS/m
- Gulf News lists it among the cool-weather crops for UAE winter gardens

**Cons**
- Slow: 80–100 days from transplanting to harvest (UF/IFAS)
- Bolts and turns bitter as the weather warms (UF/IFAS)
- Caterpillars, aphids and whiteflies target brassicas (Arizona IPM)
- Hungry and thirsty: 1–2 inches of water a week plus regular feeding (UF/IFAS)
- Not itself on the Ministry calendar; windows follow cabbage and cauliflower

## Common mistakes

- Planting out too early in October heat. Gulf News advises planting cool-weather crops from late November, and the Ministry's window for brassicas starts in October, so shade seedlings.
- Letting it dry out between waterings. UF/IFAS says 1 to 2 inches of water a week in heavy soakings.
- Leaving heads too long. UF/IFAS says once broccoli bolts it becomes quite bitter.
- Cutting the plant down after the first head. UF/IFAS says the plant keeps producing side shoots, which can also be harvested.
- Ignoring caterpillars. Arizona desert data show diamondback moths re-infest brassicas each autumn on the wind.

## Good to know

- Calabrese is the common green type, often called simply broccoli. Sprouting broccoli has many thin stems and heads (Wikipedia).
- UF/IFAS: the plant needs only four to six hours of sun a day, and a soil pH of 6.2 to 6.5.
- The Ministry's calendar lists cabbage and cauliflower, which are the same species, Brassica oleracea, but not broccoli.
- UF/IFAS says to buy clean transplants to avoid black rot, a bacterial disease named on its cabbage page.

## Using it in a garden

Roles: Raised-bed brassica, Kitchen-garden staple, Large-container crop, Winter foliage

Give broccoli a sunny, rich raised bed with room between plants, a drip line on a timer and a mulch of compost. It tolerates part shade (four to six hours of sun is enough, per UF/IFAS), so it can sit on the east side of a wall where afternoon shade falls in March. Rotate it with other brassicas rather than repeating the bed.

- [Lettuce](https://plantguide.ae/plants/lettuce.md): A quick cool-season crop that fills the gaps between young broccoli plants and is picked before they spread.
- [Coriander](https://plantguide.ae/plants/coriander.md): A quick herb with the same cool-season window, sharing the bed and watering routine.

## FAQ

**When should I plant broccoli in Dubai?**  
BBC Good Food Middle East gives October to November. The Ministry does not list broccoli, but gives cabbage and cauliflower nursery sowing from September to December and field planting from October to December. Plant out from late October to early December.

**How long does broccoli take?**  
UF/IFAS gives 80 to 100 days after transplanting, so seedlings planted in November are cut from February.

**Why has my broccoli flowered?**  
Bolting. UF/IFAS says rising temperatures cause the flowers in the head to open, after which the broccoli is quite bitter. Harvest while the buds are tight and plan to finish by March.

**Will broccoli regrow after cutting?**  
Yes. UF/IFAS says to cut the main head first, and the plant keeps producing side shoots, which you can also harvest.

**Can I grow broccoli in a pot?**  
Yes, one plant per large, deep pot of sweet soil and compost, with a drip line or daily watering, mulch and regular feeding. It does not like drying out.

**What pests attack broccoli?**  
Diamondback moth and cabbage white caterpillars, aphids and whiteflies. Arizona desert data show moths arriving every autumn and aphids peaking in winter, so check the leaves weekly.

## Related plants

[Cabbage](https://plantguide.ae/plants/cabbage.md) · [Cauliflower](https://plantguide.ae/plants/cauliflower.md) · [Kale](https://plantguide.ae/plants/kale.md) · [Spinach](https://plantguide.ae/plants/spinach.md) · [Lettuce](https://plantguide.ae/plants/lettuce.md) · [Carrot](https://plantguide.ae/plants/carrot.md)

## Photos

![A patch of broccoli plants growing in a raised bed in a garden in Melbourne](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/Broccoli-patch-big.jpg)  
Photo: Etbe / CC BY-SA 3.0 / Wikimedia Commons ([source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Broccoli-patch-big.jpg))

![A broccoli head forming among large leaves in a garden bed](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/-2018-12-10_Broccoli%2C_Trimingham_%281%29.JPG)  
Photo: Kolforn / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons ([source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:-2018-12-10_Broccoli,_Trimingham_(1).JPG))

![A broccoli plant beginning to set its flower head](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/Broccoli_growing.jpg)  
Photo: Buddy431 / CC BY-SA 3.0 / Wikimedia Commons ([source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Broccoli_growing.jpg))

## Sources

- [UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment: Dates for Planting Vegetables and Fruits in the UAE](https://moccae.gov.ae/assets/download/56f7a89b/agriculture_calender_page_en.pdf.aspx)
- [Wikipedia: Climate of Dubai (Dubai International Airport, 1991 to 2020 normals)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Dubai)
- [BBC Good Food Middle East: A guide to growing fruits and vegetables in the UAE](https://www.bbcgoodfoodme.com/how-to/a-guide-to-growing-fruits-and-vegetables-in-the-uae/)
- [UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions: Broccoli](https://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/plants/edibles/vegetables/broccoli/)
- [UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions: Cabbage](https://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/plants/edibles/vegetables/cabbage/)
- [Gulf News: Winter gardening in the UAE, a budget-friendly guide to growing your own vegetables](https://gulfnews.com/amp/friday/home/winter-gardening-in-the-uae-a-budget-friendly-guide-to-growing-your-own-vegetables-1.1733397053629)
- [FAO: Crop salt tolerance data (Annex 1)](https://www.fao.org/4/y4263e/y4263e0e.htm)
- [DEWA: Irrigation advice](https://www.dewa.gov.ae/en/consumer/sustainability/sustainability-and-conservation/irrigation)
- [University of Arizona Vegetable IPM Updates: Weather influence on desert insect pests (J. Palumbo)](https://www.vegetableipmupdates.arizona.edu/sites/default/files/2023-11/Weather%20Influence%20Desert%20Insect%20Pests-2020.pdf)
- [POWO (Kew Plants of the World Online): Brassica oleracea](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:279435-1)
- [Wikipedia: Broccoli](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broccoli)
- [Wiktionary: بروكلي (Hijazi Arabic)](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%D8%A8%D8%B1%D9%88%D9%83%D9%84%D9%8A)
- [Hindi Wikipedia: ब्रोकली](https://hi.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A4%AC%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%95%E0%A4%B2%E0%A5%80)
- [Urdu Wikipedia: شاخ گوبھی](https://ur.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%B4%D8%A7%D8%AE_%DA%AF%D9%88%D8%A8%DA%BE%DB%8C)
- [Malayalam Wikipedia: ബ്രോക്കൊളി](https://ml.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B4%AC%E0%B5%8D%E0%B4%B0%E0%B5%8B%E0%B4%95%E0%B5%8D%E0%B4%95%E0%B5%8A%E0%B4%B3%E0%B4%BF)
- [Tamil Wikipedia: பச்சை பூக்கோசு](https://ta.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%AE%AA%E0%AE%9A%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%9A%E0%AF%88_%E0%AE%AA%E0%AF%82%E0%AE%95%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%95%E0%AF%8B%E0%AE%9A%E0%AF%81)
- [Tagalog Wikipedia: Brokoli](https://tl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brokoli)
- [Bengali Wikipedia: ব্রকলি](https://bn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A6%AC%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%95%E0%A6%B2%E0%A6%BF)
- [Persian Wikipedia: کلم بروکلی](https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%DA%A9%D9%84%D9%85_%D8%A8%D8%B1%D9%88%DA%A9%D9%84%DB%8C)