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!
Seasonal Seed Subscriptions
Take the guesswork out of ordering seeds with our seasonal seed subscriptions. Subscriptions are an excellent way to explore new seed varieties without having to spend time choosing the seeds yourself, and are perfect for busy gardeners, delivering seeds and all the information you need to plant them directly to your letterbox.
Each season we’ll choose a selection of seed varieties tailored to your climate, and send you the seeds plus a colour information sheet with photos, tips and sowing information - all you need to do is plant!
Sign Up or read on below for more information
Not sure which climate?A selection of quality seeds four times a year: Access to expert information and advice: Example of a vegetable seed delivery: Example of a flower seed delivery: * We reserve the right to vary the contents or frequency of the offer at any time at our discretion. If we do this the overall value of the offer and total number of seed packets included in it will remain unchanged. For a year's worth of seeds delivered to your letterbox please add one or more of the products below to your cart. A year’s supply of vegetable and flower seeds is a generous and thoughtful gift that’s certain to delight any gardener. Gift subscriptions include the same seeds, information and other benefits as standard subscriptions. Gift recipients will be emailed an electronic gift voucher along with your personalised message at a day and time of your choosing. They can then activate their subscription on our website by completing their address details and selecting their climate and if they want vegetables or flowers. Seeds are delivered directly to the recipient’s letterbox each season. To get started simply add a gift subscription to your shopping cart and checkout: Can I choose my own seeds? Can seed subscriptions be sent to WA and Tasmania? Do the seed subscription packets contain the same number of seeds as normal packets? Is postage included? When are the seeds posted? My seeds haven't arrived, what should I do? Can I cancel or suspend my subscription?
What’s Included
Summer 2024 | Vegetables | Cool Climate
One packet each of brocolli 'Romanesco', carrot 'Rainbow Mix', cauliflower 'Purple Sicily', chinese cabbage 'Wombok', dwarf bean 'Pioneer', Florence fennel, lettuce 'Red Velvet', mustard greens 'Chirimen Hakarashi', silverbeet 'Magenta', basil.*
Summer 2024 | Flowers | Temperate Climate
One packet each of ageratum 'Market Growers Blue', alyssum 'Carpet of Snow', aster 'Hulk', forget me not 'Rose Pink', marigold 'Yummy Mummy', nasturtium 'Alaska Mixed', petunia 'Karkulka', sunflower 'Compact Lilac Spray', wallflower 'Fire King', zinnia 'Mazurkia'.*
Pricing
Subscription Type
Deliveries and Seed Packets (per year)
One Year
Two Years
Vegetable seed subscription
Four deliveries with 10 packets of seed per delivery, 40 packets of seed in total.
$80.00
$150.00
Flower seed subscription
Four deliveries with 10 packets of seed per delivery, 40 packets of seed in total.
$80.00
$150.00
Gift Subscriptions
FAQ
Customers aren't able to choose which seeds they receive in their seed subscriptions. Our subscriptions are designed as a convenient way to receive seasonal seeds and to take the hassle out of deciphering what to plant when. Customers are always welcome to order seeds through our website in the usual way.
Yes, most of our seeds can be sent to WA and Tasmania. If there are any varieties in the subscription that are not permitted in your state, we’ll include suitable alternatives to make sure you still receive the correct number of packets of seeds.
Yes, the seed packets included in the seed subscription are the same as those we sell individually.
Yes, postage costs are included in the cost of the subscription.
We will post seeds four times a year in mid to late November, February, May and August. You will receive an email notification when the seeds are posted so you know to look out for them.
Seeds are sent as standard Australia Post letters without tracking. Our usual delivery guarantee applies to seed subscriptions, so if your seeds haven't arrived within our guaranteed delivery time, we will resend them by Express Post. Please contact us at admin@theseedcollection.com.au if there are any issues with delivery.
We cannot cancel or refund subscriptions once they are underway, however we can suspend subscriptions for one or more seasons if you are planning to be away for a lengthy period. Please let us know by emailing admin@theseedcollection.com.au.
