Fareed Mohmed

Gardening · Climate Compatibility · Sri Lanka

Best Plants for Nuwara Eliya

Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka has a subtropical highland climate: summer highs around 23°C, winter lows around 8°C, 1900 mm of annual rainfall and moderate-high humidity. Here's how 2,500 plants stack up against that climate, and when to plant them.

1,014Excellent Match
995Good Match
487Marginal
4Not Suitable

Nuwara Eliya’s year at a glance

14JAN14FEB15MAR16APR17MAY18JUN18JUL18AUG17SEP16OCT15NOV14DECBars: average temperature. White ticks: average overnight low.

Estimated average temperature by month, °C frost-free frost likely overnight

Plants that suit Nuwara Eliya

Every plant here has been checked against Nuwara Eliya’s summer heat, winter cold, chill hours, humidity and rainfall. Good fits grow reliably with ordinary care. Marginal fits can work, but need extra care such as shade, frost cover or a pot you can move. Click any plant for the full reasoning.

Fit
Lifecycle
Type

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What to plant in Nuwara Eliya, month by month

Planting windows are worked out from Nuwara Eliya’s estimated monthly temperatures and each plant’s comfortable range: warm enough to avoid frost damage, cool enough to avoid heat stress. Pick a month, or click a cell in the grid.

Lifecycle
Type

Estimates only. They use average temperatures and don’t include local rainfall timing, frost dates or microclimate, so treat them as a starting point and check with a local nursery. In monsoon and wet-dry climates, trees and shrubs usually establish best at the start of the rains. An asterisk (*) means the plant’s best available window is only a rough fit here. Indoor and potted plants such as houseplants, orchids and bromeliads can be potted at any time, so they aren’t listed in the calendar. “Annual” includes biennials and tender perennials grown as annuals (tomato, chilli, petunia).

Nearby cities

Checked against 2,500 plants in total (487 marginal, 4 not recommended outdoors in Nuwara Eliya). Look up any specific plant, or compare Nuwara Eliya against a different climate factor by factor:

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