What to plant in Dubai in winter

Dubai's winter is the season the rest of the year borrows from. Daytime highs of 24 to 27°C and nights near 15 to 17°C turn the garden from a place you manage into a place you use. It is also the only part of the year with meaningful rain, between about 16 and 25 mm a month from December to February, so irrigation controllers can ease back.

For gardeners, winter is a split season. Planting continues, because the soil is cool and roots establish steadily. Trees, palms, shrubs and climbers go in through December and January, and palms are happiest from mid-February to mid-March, according to FAO guidance for hot climates. Bedding such as Petunia, Marigold and Vinca, planted in autumn, is in full colour, and leafy vegetables, herbs and root crops are cropping. Sow salad leaves and herbs little and often until the end of February.

The work shifts from establishing to maintaining. Feed flowering shrubs, deadhead bedding, and prune lightly: formative pruning of young trees in December and January, and gentle shaping of summer-flowering shrubs once they have finished. Frangipani and other leaf-drop plants stand bare, which is dormancy, not death. Watch for aphids, which love soft winter growth, and for overwatering on cool, damp nights. By late February, start thinking about heat: slow-growing trees need to be in the ground, and summer bedding can begin hardening off.