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.
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).
- Set as my climate
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).
- Set as my climate
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.
- Set as my climate
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.
- Set as my climate
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.
- Set as my climate
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!
Our custom printed seed packets are suited to a range of uses including:
- Wedding favours (bomboniere's)
- Promotional seed packets
- Corporate gifts
- Personal gifts
- Funeral or Memorial services
- Baby Showers
- Christenings and 1st Birthdays
- Events
- For use with greeting cards (Christmas cards, birthday cards, etc.)
Our custom printed seed packets are 70 x 120mm in size. Both the front and back of the packets can be custom printed. We have many templates available or you can submit your own design.
Custom printed seed packets are available at 2 price points, Economy and Deluxe:
- ECONOMY includes: Kraft brown paper, black print and a limited seed selection. Pricing below.
- DELUXE includes: White or kraft Brown paper, colour print and a large choice of seeds. Pricing below.
Click here to place an order or continue reading below for more information.
Seeds:
Our ECONOMY range of custom printed seed packets includes your choice of any of the following seed varieties.
HERBS: Basil, dill, coriander, parsley, chives
VEGETABLES: Carrot, lettuce, rocket, cabbage, kale
FLOWERS: Californian Poppy, Shirley Poppy, Candytuft, Flanders Poppy, Livingstone Daisy, Baby's Breath, Brachycome, Nigella, Everlasting Daisy.
Our DELUXE range of custom printed seed packets includes your choice of any of our available seed varieties listed on our website up to a listed value of $1.50
*Seed varieties are subject to available stock levels
*If none of these varieties are right for your job let us know and we'll see if we can find something that will better match your idea.
Paper and Printing
Our ECONOMY range of paper envelopes includes Kraft Brown. With black print only.
Our DELUXE range of paper envelopes includes; White (with black or colour print) or Kraft Brown (with colour print).
Pricing:
Minimum order size for our custom printed seed packet is 50 packets.
The pricing below is inclusive of seeds, seed envelopes and custom printing. There are no additional artwork setup fees.
| Quantity |
ECONOMY Pricing -Black print |
DELUXE Pricing -Black or colour print |
|---|---|---|
| (per print/paper/seed variation) | Per packet | Per Packet |
| At least 50 packets | $1.50 | $2.00 |
| At least 100 packets | $1.40 | $1.90 |
| At least 250 packets | $1.25 | $1.75 |
| At least 500 packets | $1.00 | $1.50 |
| At least 1000 packets | $0.90 | $1.40 |
| At least 2500 packets | $0.80 | $1.30 |
| 5000+ packets | contact us | contact us |
*Please note the above pricing is to be used as a guide only. Pricing is subject to change and pricing may vary depending on specific job requirements.
*Please note Custom Printed Seed packets are not eligible for free shipping.
*Prices above include GST.
Order Form- Custom Printed Seed Packets
For special orders and enquiries contact us.
Phone (03) 8719 0440
E-mail admin@theseedcollection.com.au
Artwork Specs
Below are the artwork specifications for our custom printed seed envelopes. If you are placing a 'special order' please contact us as artwork specs may vary.
Artwork is best supplied as a print ready PDF (300+dpi, all text converted to curves/outlines) but we can accept artwork in most common file formats.
The envelopes are 70 x 120mm in size so the file size should match this.
Printing is in black or full colour (CMYK).
PAPER: Minor print defects are expected during printing. For best results we recommend your design avoids the use of large solid black or coloured areas as these can appear patchy when printed.
MARGINS: Edge-to-edge printing is not possible on most orders and print bleeds are not required. Please make sure your design includes the following print free margins:
Print margins front:
Top and bottom- 3mm
Left and right- 2mm
Print margins back:
Top and bottom- 3mm
Left and right- 2mm
Note: all flaps can be printed on but a 3mm clearance from all folds and flaps is required. See files below for guides.
File downloads:
- PDF- FRONT template (blank)
- PDF- BACK TEMPLATE (with sowing info)
- PDF- BACK TEMPLATE
- PNG- BACK TEMPLATE
- PNG- Printable areas
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
