South AmericaSouthern hemisphere
Gardening in Brazil
Wet and dry seasons rather than hot and cold. Growth is relentless.
The numbers that decide your year
- Growing zones
- Tropical to subtropical
- Last spring frost
- Only in the far south
- First autumn frost
- June in the southern highlands
- Rainfall
- 1000–3000 mm
The local challenge
Managing growth rather than encouraging it, and heavy tropical rain.
Rules worth knowing
Collecting native plants from the wild is restricted, and Atlantic Forest species are legally protected.
How people actually garden here
- Modernist tropical planting
- Shade courtyards
- Edible tropical gardens
- Green walls
Native to this country
Plants that evolved here. They ask least of you and give most back to local insects and birds.
Reliable in this climate
Introduced rather than native, but proven in these conditions. Each links to its full encyclopedia entry.
Seasonal jobs
Open the calendarThe calendar reads your device clock and shifts every job six months for the southern hemisphere.
The printed guide
The Brazil Gardening Guide
272 pages written for this country alone: its soil, its frost dates, its rules and the plants that reward the effort. Everything on this page, expanded and in your hands.
- Wet and dry season gardening
- Tropical foliage composition
- Shade layers and humidity
- Edible tropicals
- Drainage for heavy rain
- Native species you may plant
€9.95272 pages · PDF download