What to plant in May in Dubai

May is where Dubai gardens are won or lost. Highs average 38°C, the rain has gone, and the sun is already close to its summer intensity. Planting is now the exception. Okra, Malabar spinach and sweet potato vines still go in, as do heat-adapted flowers such as Vinca and Portulaca, but almost everything else should wait for September or October.

Your job is to get ahead of the heat. Water before 8am or after 6pm, as DEWA advises, and aim to finish by 7am so the soil starts the day cool. Mulch beds thickly, shade newly planted trees and shrubs, and check every drip line weekly: one blocked emitter can kill a young plant in days. Hold back on major pruning and on feeding, and let plants spend their energy on survival. Dubai Municipality's own planting follows the same logic, shifting to a hardier summer cycle from May. Buy now only what you can protect.