Climate Zones for Australian Gardeners

Knowing your climate zone will help you decide the best time to sow the vegetables, herbs and flowers you want to grow, and which varieties should perform well in your garden. Growing plants that are suited to your climate zone will usually give you the best results in your garden.

How to Use Climate Zones

First, find your climate zone using the map or descriptions below. Next, refer to our sowing chart, which provides approximate sowing times for our most popular seeds for each climate zone.

While knowing your climate zone is helpful when planning your garden, there are many other factors that may affect how your plants grow, including unseasonal weather conditions, the specific microclimate of your garden and how you care for your plants. You know your garden better than us, so if a different climate zone seems to ‘fit’ your garden better, go ahead and use it as a guide.

Our climate zones cover huge areas of Australia, so we recommend gardeners also consider their local conditions when planning what and when to plant. For example, gardeners in alpine areas have shorter growing seasons than gardeners in cool coastal areas, even though both alpine and coastal areas are included in our ‘Cool Temperate’ climate zone. We recommend gardeners in cool regions look at the ‘days to maturity’ information provided for each variety and choose those that will mature in a short (6-12 week) growing season.

climate map

Tropical

Includes: Darwin, Cairns, Townsville, Exmouth
High humidity summers with most rainfall in summer and dry, warm winters. Includes northern Australia from Exmouth (WA) across to south of Townsville (Qld).
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Arid

Includes: Alice Springs, Mildura, Albury-Wodonga, Shepparton, Wagga Wagga, Dubbo
Hot dry summers, winters can be warm or cool depending on the region. Includes a large area of central Australia from the WA coast to Charleville (Qld), Tamworth (NSW) and Albury-Wodonga (NSW/Vic).
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Subtropical

Includes: Brisbane, Bundaberg, Coffs Harbour, Gold Coast, Hervey Bay, Mackay, Rockhampton, Sunshine Coast
Warm humid summers with high summer rainfall and mild winters. Includes coastal Queensland and northern NSW from north of Mackay to just south of Coffs Harbour.
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Temperate

Includes: Sydney, Perth, Adelaide, Newcastle, Toowoomba, Central Coast NSW, Wollongong, Bunbury
Moderate humidity and reliable rainfall, with four distinct seasons. Includes coastal areas from north of Port Macquarie to south of Woollongong in NSW, coastal SA and the southeastern coast of WA.
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Cool Temperate

Includes: Melbourne, Canberra, Hobart, Launceston, Ballarat, Bendigo, Geelong, Mt Gambier
Low humidity with most rainfall in winter; hot dry summers and cold winters. Some regions will experience frosts and snow. Includes coastal areas of south-eastern Australia and alpine areas of Victoria, NSW and Tasmania.
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Climate Zones FAQ

What if I can’t find my climate zone?
If you can’t locate your zone from looking at the map or the descriptions on this page, we suggest that you think of an area that has a climate that’s similar to yours and use the zone for that area as a guide.

What if I live on the border of two zones?
If you live near the border between two zones we suggest you read the descriptions for both zones and decide which best describes the climate where you live. Depending on the microclimate in your garden, you may be able to grow a wider range of plants over a longer season than others in your zone. Lucky you!

What is a microclimate?
A microclimate is a small area where the temperature or humidity differs to the climate of the surrounding area. For example, if you live in a climate zone where frosts are common but your garden is protected by buildings or large trees, your garden may be frost-free. Similarly, if you live in a warm temperate zone but your garden is at a high altitude your microclimate may have more in common with the cool temperate zone, so use this as a guide when deciding which zone is relevant to you.

Can I grow varieties not listed for my climate zone?
While our climate zones and sowing chart will help you decide what is suitable to plant in your garden, they provide general guidance only. We recommend you start by sowing seed that’s recommended for your climate zone; once you get a few successes under your belt you can experiment with varieties in neighbouring zones and see how you go – gardening is all about experimenting after all!

The Pros of a Raised Garden Bed

Raised garden beds are great for people with physical challenges - When building your raised garden bed, you can decide how high or low you want the bed to be. You can also determine how wide and how long your bed will be. This makes raised bed gardening ideal for people who have physical challenges that make bending and kneeling hard or impossible.

You have more control over soil conditions - Getting the soil condition just right in the earth can be very frustrating. However, with a raised garden, it does not take much to get the soil conditions perfect, and with several beds, you can have as many types of soil as you want, or as your plants require. You also have more control over how well your garden beds drain when watered.

Fewer problems with weeds - If the raised garden beds are constructed, maintained and managed properly, you should not have many weeds. Ideally, you will use garden fabric in the bottom of your beds, and this will kill the grass and weeds under the bed.

Your raised garden will be safe from most pests - If you live in an area where rabbits or other burrowing animals are an issue lay chicken wire on the ground below the garden fabric in the base of your beds, make sure that the wire extends slightly past the edges of your bed. This will help to keep rabbits out of your bed. If your garden is high enough, you will not have problems with dogs, but cats may still be a problem, as well as deer.

You can choose where your garden is located - If you plant in the ground, you are more limited in terms of where your garden can be placed. You have to plant where the available space is. This can prevent you from having a garden at all if the available ground does not get enough sun, doesn't drain well, or has some other obstacle to successful gardening. However, raised beds are more flexible then can generally be placed where you want them to be and designed to fit the space you want your garden placed. They can also be built on top of other surfaces like gravel, sand, paving or concrete.

Raised beds allow you to plant earlier than usual - The soil in raised beds tends to be quite a bit warmer than the earth. This allows you to plant your seeds or transplants earlier, which gives you a longer growing season.

Raised beds canl be more attarctive than regular gardens - Raised beds can be designed in unique shapes, and they can be made with a wide range of materials. It's up to personal taste but raised beds are often considered more visually appealing than ground based gardens.

The Cons of a Raised Garden Bed

Raised gardens may require more water - You may hear raised garden beds require more water. You may also hear they require less water. Both statements are true, but it depends on the material your beds are made of, the soil conditions, the plants that are growing in the bed, and weather conditions. It is important to learn the watering needs of your plants based on these conditions.

Raised beds can cost more to establish - Beds that are constructed of quality materials, such as cedar wood, can last for decades, but the initial cash layout to build the beds can be a little high. You may be able to get recycled at little or no cost, but if the materials are not of sufficient quality, they will have to be replaced, which will cost more money. Purchasing enough soil for your beds can also be costly. You will most likely need to purchase additional soil each growing season, but the initial soil purchase will be the most costly.

Wood can rot - You may be tempted to curtail the cost of a raised bed by using cheaper wood, such as pine. However, cedar is a better choice. Cedar is fairly resistant to rot. It also helps to repel harmful insects. If you use cheaper wood, it will most likely rot within a year or two. You should not use treated wood for your raised garden beds(especially if you are growing food), and most untreated wood rots fast outdoors.

Heat can be a problem - Because the soil is warmer than the earth, your plants could easily burn up in a raised bed. It is vital you ensure your plants are getting the water they need during the hot summer months.

Raised garden beds may be popular, but they are not necessarily the right choice for all gardeners, or all gardens. It is essential you carefully consider the space you have available for planting, the pests in your area, the needs of your plants, the cost of establishing your garden, and your physical challenges, if any, when deciding whether your garden will be a ground garden or a raised garden.