---
title: The UAE Plant Index
url: https://heavenlyplants.ae/plant-index
updated: 2026-10-14
type: dataset
---

# The UAE Plant Index

107 plants rated for UAE conditions: a 22-24°C air-conditioned room at 30-40% humidity, and a Dubai balcony from May to September. Watering intervals are ranges in days; check the soil before watering. Pet safety follows the ASPCA list only. CSV: https://heavenlyplants.ae/plant-index/data.csv. Free to cite with a link to https://heavenlyplants.ae/plant-index.

| Plant | Botanical name | Light | AC tolerance | Low-humidity tolerance | Water, AC room (days) | Water, summer outdoors (days) | Summer balcony | Difficulty | Pets | Height (cm) | UAE note |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Snake Plant 'Laurentii'](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/snake-plant-laurentii) | Dracaena trifasciata 'Laurentii' | low-to-medium | high | high | 14-21 | 10-14 | shade-only | very-easy | toxic | 60-90 | The single most forgiving plant for a UAE apartment: it stores water in its leaves, so dry AC air and a fortnight away change nothing. Overwatering is the only realistic way to kill it. |
| [ZZ Plant](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/zz-plant) | Zamioculcas zamiifolia | low | high | high | 14-21 | 12-18 | no | very-easy | toxic | 60-90 | Underground rhizomes make it genuinely drought-proof, and it is the one plant that holds its gloss in a windowless Dubai office corner. |
| [Golden Pothos](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/golden-pothos) | Epipremnum aureum | low-to-medium | high | medium | 7-12 | 5-8 | shade-only | very-easy | toxic | 100-200 | Droops visibly when thirsty and recovers within hours, which makes it the best plant to learn UAE watering rhythm on. Also grows indefinitely in a jar of water, sidestepping soil entirely. |
| [Chinese Evergreen](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/chinese-evergreen) | Aglaonema commutatum | low-to-medium | high | medium | 7-14 | 6-10 | no | very-easy | toxic | 45-70 | Keeps its pink and silver variegation in far less light than most patterned plants, so it earns a spot in rooms where a Calathea would fail. |
| [Rubber Plant](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/rubber-plant) | Ficus elastica | bright-indirect | high | medium | 7-14 | 6-10 | shade-only | easy | toxic | 90-180 | One of the few large-leaved statement plants that tolerates dry AC air without crisping. Wipe the leaves monthly — Gulf dust dulls them fast and blocks light. |
| [String of Hearts](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/string-of-hearts) | Ceropegia woodii | bright-indirect | high | high | 10-14 | 8-12 | shade-only | easy | safe (ASPCA) | 60-150 | Semi-succulent, so it handles dry AC air better than any other trailing plant sold here — and it is non-toxic, which almost no other trailer is. |
| [Aloe Vera](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/aloe-vera) | Aloe barbadensis miller | part-sun | high | high | 14-21 | 10-14 | shade-only | very-easy | toxic | 30-50 | Wants a bright windowsill, not a dark corner. It scorches in unshaded UAE summer sun despite being a succulent, so keep it behind glass or under shade cloth from May. |
| [Monstera Deliciosa](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/monstera-deliciosa) | Monstera deliciosa | bright-indirect | medium | medium | 7-12 | 5-8 | no | easy | toxic | 100-180 | Splits its leaves only in genuinely bright indirect light — a dim corner gives you a healthy plant with plain, unfenestrated leaves. Brown crispy edges here usually mean hard tap water, not underwatering. |
| [Fiddle Leaf Fig](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/fiddle-leaf-fig) | Ficus lyrata | bright-indirect | medium | medium | 7-10 | 5-8 | no | moderate | toxic | 120-200 | The least forgiving plant we sell. It drops leaves at any sudden change, so do not put it in the path of an AC vent and do not move it once it settles. |
| [Bird of Paradise - Large](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/bird-of-paradise-xl) | Strelitzia nicolai | part-sun | medium | medium | 7-10 | 4-7 | shade-only | moderate | toxic | 150-250 | Wants the brightest spot in the apartment and will take a few hours of direct winter sun. Split leaves are normal and not damage — that is how the plant sheds wind load. |
| [Areca Palm](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/areca-palm) | Dypsis lutescens | bright-indirect | medium | low | 5-7 | 3-5 | shade-only | moderate | safe (ASPCA) | 150-200 | Pet-safe and architectural, but the frond tips brown in dry AC air. Group it with other plants, keep it off the AC vent, and flush the pot monthly to wash out tap-water salts. |
| [Bamboo Palm - Privacy Rectangle](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/bamboo-palm-privacy) | Chamaedorea seifrizii | low-to-medium | medium | low | 5-8 | 4-6 | shade-only | moderate | safe (ASPCA) | 150-200 | The pet-safe way to screen a room divider or a window in lower light than an Areca will accept. Watch for spider mites, which dry AC air encourages. |
| [Peace Lily](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/peace-lily) | Spathiphyllum wallisii | low-to-medium | medium | medium | 5-7 | 4-6 | no | easy | toxic | 40-60 | Wilts dramatically when thirsty and stands back up within an hour of water, so it doubles as a moisture gauge for the plants around it. Happiest in a bathroom, where UAE humidity is highest. |
| [Red Anthurium](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/red-anthurium) | Anthurium andraeanum | bright-indirect | medium | low | 5-7 | 4-6 | no | moderate | toxic | 40-60 | Flowers for months indoors but resents dry air — a bathroom or a pebble tray keeps the blooms coming. Never let it sit in standing water. |
| [Orchid](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/orchid-collection) | Phalaenopsis hybrid | bright-indirect | medium | low | 7-10 | 5-7 | no | moderate | safe (ASPCA) | 40-70 | Pet-safe and long-flowering. Water by soaking the bark and draining fully — an orchid in soggy bark rots in weeks, and AC air makes the surface look dry long before the roots are. |
| [Calathea Orbifolia](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/calathea-orbifolia) | Goeppertia orbifolia | low-to-medium | low | low | 5-7 | 3-5 | no | advanced | safe (ASPCA) | 50-70 | The hardest plant we sell to keep in the UAE and we would rather say so. It is pet-safe and beautiful, but dry AC air crisps the leaf edges and hard tap water browns them — use filtered water and a humid room, or choose a Chinese Evergreen instead. |
| [Boston Fern](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/boston-fern) | Nephrolepis exaltata | low-to-medium | low | low | 3-5 | 2-4 | no | advanced | safe (ASPCA) | 40-60 | Pet-safe, but it wants humidity the UAE indoors simply does not have. Bathroom only, and expect to water twice a week — anywhere else it browns out within a month. |
| [Spider Plant](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/spider-plant) | Chlorophytum comosum | bright-indirect | medium | medium | 7-10 | 5-7 | shade-only | easy | safe (ASPCA) | 30-45 | Pet-safe, cheap and prolific — it throws pups you can pot on for free. Brown leaf tips here are almost always fluoride and salts in the tap water, so flush the pot monthly. |
| [Jasmine](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/jasmine-plant) | Jasminum sambac | part-sun | low | medium | 4-6 | 2-4 | shade-only | moderate | safe (ASPCA) | 60-120 | The scent Gulf homes are built around, and it is non-toxic. It needs real sun to flower, so treat it as a balcony plant that visits indoors rather than a houseplant. |
| [Lavender](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/lavender) | Lavandula angustifolia | full-sun | low | high | 7-10 | 3-5 | winter-only | advanced | caution | 30-50 | A winter plant here, not a year-round one. Lavender wants full sun with dry air and cool nights — it performs from November to April on a UAE balcony and usually gives up in the summer humidity. |
| [Eucalyptus](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/eucalyptus) | Eucalyptus gunnii | full-sun | low | high | 5-7 | 2-4 | yes | moderate | toxic | 100-200 | Sold indoors elsewhere, but it needs full sun and moving air. On a UAE balcony it thrives; in an AC living room it drops its leaves within weeks. |
| [Bougainvillea Bush](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/bougainvillea-bush) | Bougainvillea glabra | full-sun | low | high | 5-7 | 2-3 | yes | easy | caution | 80-150 | The defining Gulf garden plant. It flowers hardest when slightly stressed, so resist overwatering — a bougainvillea kept too wet gives you leaves and no colour. |
| [Hibiscus 'Red'](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/hibiscus-red) | Hibiscus rosa-sinensis | full-sun | low | medium | 3-5 | 1-2 | yes | moderate | safe (ASPCA) | 80-150 | Non-toxic and flowers nearly year-round here, but it is thirsty — daily water in July, and afternoon shade stops the blooms bleaching. |
| [Desert Rose (Adenium)](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/desert-rose) | Adenium obesum | full-sun | medium | high | 14-21 | 7-10 | yes | very-easy | toxic | 40-80 | Native to the Arabian peninsula's climate and completely at home in UAE heat — the caudex stores water, so it is the lowest-maintenance flowering plant on a sunny balcony. |
| [Frangipani (Plumeria)](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/frangipani) | Plumeria rubra | full-sun | low | high | 7-10 | 4-6 | yes | easy | caution | 100-180 | Drops its leaves and stops in the cool months — that is dormancy, not death. Cut watering right back from December and it returns in spring. |
| [Nerium Oleander](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/oleander-pink) | Nerium oleander | full-sun | low | high | 7-10 | 3-5 | yes | very-easy | toxic | 120-200 | Lines UAE motorways because nothing kills it — salt, heat and neglect included. We sell it only for boundary planting, never for a family garden or balcony. |
| [Ixora Chinensis Red](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/ixora-red) | Ixora coccinea | part-sun | low | medium | 4-6 | 2-3 | yes | moderate | safe (ASPCA) | 60-120 | Yellowing leaves with green veins are the standard UAE complaint: alkaline soil locking out iron. Feed with a chelated iron tonic rather than more water. |
| [Premium Olive Tree - XL](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/premium-olive-tree) | Olea europaea | full-sun | medium | high | 7-10 | 3-5 | yes | easy | safe (ASPCA) | 150-250 | Mediterranean climate, so it handles Gulf heat and dry air easily — the risk is drainage, not drought. Never leave the pot standing in a saucer of water. |
| [Foxtail Palm — 180cm](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/foxtail-palm) | Wodyetia bifurcata | full-sun | medium | high | 5-7 | 2-4 | yes | easy | safe (ASPCA) | 180-300 | Self-cleaning — old fronds drop on their own, so it needs far less trimming than a date palm around a pool. |
| [Sago Palm (Cycas Revoluta)](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/sago-palm) | Cycas revoluta | part-sun | medium | high | 10-14 | 5-8 | yes | easy | toxic | 60-120 | Extremely tough in UAE conditions and extremely dangerous to dogs. We will not recommend it for a garden where a dog is loose — choose a Foxtail Palm instead. |
| [Dwarf Date Palm — 150cm](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/date-palm-dwarf) | Phoenix roebelenii | full-sun | medium | high | 5-8 | 2-4 | yes | easy | caution | 120-200 | The regionally appropriate palm for a courtyard or a large balcony, at a fraction of a full date palm's footprint. |
| [Ghaf Tree — UAE National Tree](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/ghaf-tree) | Prosopis cineraria | full-sun | high | high | 10-14 | 5-10 | yes | very-easy | safe (ASPCA) | 150-300 | The UAE's national tree, adapted to this exact climate over millennia. Once established it needs almost no irrigation, which makes it the most water-efficient shade tree you can plant here. |
| [Sidr Tree (Ziziphus)](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/sidr-tree) | Ziziphus spina-christi | full-sun | high | high | 10-14 | 5-10 | yes | very-easy | safe (ASPCA) | 150-300 | Native, edible-fruited and deeply drought-tolerant. Like the Ghaf it is thorny, so site it away from paths and play areas. |
| [Agave (Blue Attenuata)](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/agave-blue) | Agave attenuata | full-sun | high | high | 21-30 | 10-14 | yes | very-easy | toxic | 60-120 | Effectively irrigation-free once rooted. Keep the spine tips away from walkways — on a young agave they are at eye level for a child. |
| [Succulent 6-Pack](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/succulent-6-pack) | Mixed Crassulaceae and Echeveria | part-sun | high | high | 14-21 | 7-12 | shade-only | very-easy | caution | 8-20 | Bright shade, not full summer sun — unshaded July sun scorches most nursery-grown succulents because they were raised under netting. |
| [Curry Leaf Tree (Murraya Koenigii)](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/curry-leaf-tree) | Murraya koenigii | full-sun | low | high | 4-6 | 2-3 | yes | easy | safe (ASPCA) | 80-180 | Thrives in Gulf heat and is the single most-used leaf in South Asian home cooking here. Drops leaves below about 10°C on a January night and returns in spring. |
| [Lemon Tree (Omani) — 100cm](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/lemon-tree-outdoor) | Citrus limon | full-sun | low | medium | 4-6 | 1-3 | yes | moderate | caution | 100-200 | Fruits well here with consistent water and monthly feed. Yellow leaves are usually iron lockout from alkaline tap water rather than a feeding problem — treat with chelated iron. |
| [Herb 4-Pack — Mint, Basil, Rosemary, Parsley](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/herb-4-pack) | Mixed culinary herbs | part-sun | low | medium | 2-4 | 1-2 | winter-only | moderate | safe (ASPCA) | 20-40 | A winter crop on a UAE balcony. Basil, mint and coriander run to seed and collapse in July heat — plant from October, harvest through April, and grow mint in its own pot or it takes the tray. |
| [Flame Tree (Delonix regia) — 30Ltr](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/delonix-flame-tree) | Delonix regia | full-sun | low | high | 7-10 | 3-4 | no | easy | caution | 800-1200 | Flowers scarlet May to July, exactly when nothing else does — but the surface roots lift paving, so keep it 4m clear of walls, pool decks and drive slabs. |
| [Pink Trumpet Tree (Tabebuia) — 50Ltr](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/tabebuia-trumpet-tree) | Tabebuia rosea | full-sun | low | high | 7-10 | 3-4 | no | moderate | safe (ASPCA) | 600-1000 | Drops its leaves then flowers on bare wood for three to four weeks in spring; roots stay well behaved, so it is the flowering tree to use near hard landscaping. |
| [Hong Kong Orchid Tree (Bauhinia)](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/bauhinia-orchid-tree) | Bauhinia × blakeana | full-sun | low | medium | 5-7 | 3-4 | no | moderate | safe (ASPCA) | 400-600 | Flowers November to March — the months a UAE garden is actually used — and tops out near 6m, so it fits plots that cannot take a flame tree. |
| [Golden Shower Tree (Cassia)](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/cassia-golden-shower) | Cassia fistula | full-sun | low | high | 7-10 | 3-5 | no | easy | caution | 500-900 | The only common UAE tree that hangs its yellow flowers in long chains rather than clusters; it widens before it heightens, so allow 3m of clear ground. |
| [Copperpod / Yellow Flame (Peltophorum)](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/peltophorum-copperpod) | Peltophorum pterocarpum | full-sun | low | high | 7-10 | 3-5 | no | easy | safe (ASPCA) | 800-1200 | Holds its canopy through a Gulf summer and takes coastal salt wind, which is why it shades more UAE car parks than any other flowering tree. |
| [Neem Tree (Azadirachta indica) — 30Ltr](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/neem-tree) | Azadirachta indica | full-sun | low | high | 7-14 | 5-7 | no | very-easy | caution | 800-1500 | Survives 48°C, sandy soil and brackish irrigation better than any other shade tree sold here — the species that made early Gulf greening projects work. |
| [Pride of Barbados (Caesalpinia)](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/caesalpinia-pride-of-barbados) | Caesalpinia pulcherrima | full-sun | low | high | 5-7 | 3-4 | yes | very-easy | caution | 200-350 | One of the few shrubs that flowers hardest May to September, including against a west-facing wall that radiates heat all evening. |
| [Mediterranean Fan Palm — Multi-Trunk](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/chamaerops-fan-palm) | Chamaerops humilis | full-sun | medium | high | 10-14 | 5-7 | yes | very-easy | safe (ASPCA) | 200-300 | The most drought-tolerant palm in the range and the only one that stays villa-sized — it clumps to 2-3m instead of running for the sky like a date or foxtail palm. |
| [Sago Palm — Large 18Ltr](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/sago-palm-large) | Cycas revoluta | part-sun | high | high | 10-14 | 7-10 | shade-only | easy | toxic | 120-200 | A cycad this size is roughly a decade of growth; it will sit in the same pot for years here, and dislikes being moved between deep shade and full sun. |
| [Ficus Panda — Standard 18Ltr](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/ficus-panda-standard) | Ficus microcarpa 'Panda' | part-sun | medium | medium | 7-10 | 3-4 | yes | easy | toxic | 200-400 | Holds a clipped shape far better than ficus nitida because of the smaller leaf — expect two weeks of leaf drop after delivery while it adjusts to the new light level. |
| [Silver Damas Ball (Conocarpus)](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/silver-damas-ball) | Conocarpus lancifolius 'Sericeus' | full-sun | low | high | 7-10 | 3-5 | yes | very-easy | safe (ASPCA) | 150-250 | Takes salt wind, reflected heat and hard clipping — the silver form is the same tough conocarpus lining UAE highways, just grown as a formal ball. |
| [Wild Jasmine Hedge (Clerodendrum) — 5 Plants](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/clerodendrum-hedge-5) | Clerodendrum inerme | part-sun | low | high | 4-6 | 2-3 | yes | very-easy | caution | 150-250 | The hedge that holds on a salt-sprayed Gulf plot or under brackish TSE irrigation, where a ficus hedge browns off and dies back. |
| [Hopbush Hedge (Dodonaea viscosa) — 5 Plants](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/dodonaea-hedge-5) | Dodonaea viscosa | full-sun | low | high | 5-7 | 3-4 | yes | very-easy | safe (ASPCA) | 200-300 | Closes into a 2m screen faster than almost anything that survives an unshaded Gulf summer, and asks for less water than the ficus hedge most people default to. |
| [Sea Hibiscus (Hibiscus tiliaceus)](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/hibiscus-tiliaceus) | Hibiscus tiliaceus | full-sun | low | high | 4-6 | 2-3 | yes | very-easy | safe (ASPCA) | 400-600 | The coastal tree hibiscus, not the bedding one — flowers open yellow and turn bronze-red by evening, and it takes salt spray that kills ornamental hibiscus outright. |
| [Yellow Bells Tree (Tecoma stans) — 30Ltr](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/tecoma-stans-yellow) | Tecoma stans | full-sun | low | high | 5-7 | 3-4 | yes | very-easy | caution | 300-500 | Forms an upright small tree, unlike the orange Cape honeysuckle that stays a shrub — cut it hard in September for the heaviest winter flowering. |
| [Yellow Oleander (Thevetia)](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/thevetia-yellow-oleander) | Cascabela thevetia | full-sun | low | high | 7-10 | 4-6 | yes | very-easy | toxic | 250-400 | Flowers through peak summer on minimal water against reflected wall heat — but its toxicity rules it out of any garden used by small children or pets. |
| [Peregrina (Jatropha integerrima)](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/jatropha-peregrina) | Jatropha integerrima | part-sun | low | medium | 5-7 | 3-4 | yes | easy | toxic | 200-300 | Close to continuously in flower here, which almost nothing else manages — and compact enough for a large balcony pot rather than a bed. |
| [Red Pseuderanthemum](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/pseuderanthemum-red) | Pseuderanthemum atropurpureum | part-sun | medium | medium | 4-6 | 2-3 | shade-only | easy | safe (ASPCA) | 60-120 | One of the few dependable dark-foliage plants for this climate, but full July afternoon sun scorches the leaves — give it morning sun or bright shade. |
| [Mandevilla Tower — Trellised 30Ltr](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/mandevilla-tower) | Mandevilla sanderi | part-sun | low | medium | 3-5 | 1-2 | shade-only | moderate | toxic | 200-300 | Flowers autumn to late spring and needs afternoon shade here — unshaded western sun in July burns the leaf edges within days. |
| [Purple Fountain Grass (Pennisetum Red)](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/pennisetum-red) | Pennisetum setaceum 'Rubrum' | full-sun | low | high | 7-10 | 5-7 | yes | very-easy | safe (ASPCA) | 90-120 | The burgundy colour only holds in full sun — in shade it reverts towards green, which defeats the point of choosing the red form. |
| [Elephant Bush (Portulacaria afra)](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/portulacaria-afra) | Portulacaria afra | bright-indirect | high | high | 14-21 | 10-14 | shade-only | very-easy | safe (ASPCA) | 100-150 | Rare combination here: a shrub-sized succulent that is genuinely non-toxic to cats and dogs, tolerates AC air, and clips into shape like a hedge plant. |
| [Ruellia Blue Tray — 6 Plants](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/ruellia-blue-tray-6) | Ruellia simplex | full-sun | low | high | 4-6 | 2-3 | yes | very-easy | safe (ASPCA) | 60-90 | Opens a fresh set of violet-blue flowers every morning from spring to late autumn; cut the clump to the ground in February and it returns thicker. |
| [Ruellia White Tray — 6 Plants](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/ruellia-white-tray-6) | Ruellia simplex 'Alba' | full-sun | low | high | 4-6 | 2-3 | yes | very-easy | safe (ASPCA) | 60-90 | Reads cooler and visually larger than the blue against pale villa walls, and UAE nurseries stock far less of the white form. |
| [Alternanthera Green Tray — 6 Plants](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/alternanthera-tray-6) | Alternanthera ficoidea | full-sun | low | medium | 3-4 | 1-2 | yes | easy | safe (ASPCA) | 20-30 | The plant behind the clipped edging patterns in UAE parks and hotel beds — it holds a line under shearing, but it wants water every other day to do it. |
| [Chinese Violet (Asystasia) Tray — 6 Plants](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/asystasia-tray-6) | Asystasia gangetica | part-sun | low | medium | 4-6 | 2-3 | shade-only | very-easy | safe (ASPCA) | 30-50 | Fills dry shade under trees and along north walls where grass thins out — vigorous enough that it needs edging twice a year to stay in bounds. |
| [Bloodleaf (Iresine) Tray — 6 Plants](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/iresine-tray-6) | Iresine herbstii | part-sun | medium | medium | 3-5 | 1-2 | shade-only | easy | safe (ASPCA) | 40-60 | Crimson colour is strongest in morning sun — deep shade turns it muddy and unshaded July sun scorches the leaf edges. |
| [Flax Lily (Dianella) — 3 Plants](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/dianella-flax-lily-3) | Dianella tasmanica | part-sun | medium | high | 5-7 | 3-4 | yes | very-easy | caution | 50-80 | Gives a bed the vertical structure an ornamental grass does, but stays evergreen and tidy instead of dying back each year — and it works in real shade too. |
| [Sea Purslane (Sesuvium) Tray — 6 Plants](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/sesuvium-tray-6) | Sesuvium portulacastrum | full-sun | low | high | 7-10 | 5-7 | yes | very-easy | safe (ASPCA) | 10-20 | Grows natively on UAE beaches in salt and sand — the ground cover for a coastal plot or a bed irrigated with brackish TSE water. |
| [Railroad Vine (Ipomoea) — 3 Plants](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/ipomoea-railroad-vine-3) | Ipomoea pes-caprae | full-sun | low | high | 5-7 | 3-4 | yes | very-easy | caution | 20-40 | Runs metres in a season and holds loose sand in place — deliberately vigorous, so keep it off anything you do not want covered. |
| [Portulaca Sun Jewels Tray — 6 Plants](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/portulaca-sun-jewels-6) | Portulaca grandiflora 'Sun Jewels' | full-sun | low | high | 5-7 | 3-4 | yes | very-easy | safe (ASPCA) | 15-25 | Flowers stay shut in shade — this only works in a spot that gets direct midday sun, which makes it the right plant for the balcony corner that bakes. |
| [Ficus Nitida Hedge — 5 Plants](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/ficus-nitida-hedge-5) | Ficus microcarpa var. nitida | part-sun | medium | medium | 5-7 | 2-3 | yes | easy | toxic | 200-400 | The UAE's default privacy hedge and the densest formal face available — but the thirstiest option here, with vigorous roots, and it browns badly within salt-spray range of the Gulf. |
| [Carissa (Natal Plum) Hedge — 5 Plants](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/carissa-hedge-5) | Carissa macrocarpa | full-sun | low | high | 5-7 | 3-4 | yes | very-easy | caution | 150-250 | Thorny, drought-tolerant and scented, with edible ripe plums — the hedge to use when the boundary has a security job as well as a screening one. |
| [Golden Duranta Hedge — 5 Plants](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/duranta-golden-hedge-5) | Duranta erecta 'Gold Mound' | part-sun | low | medium | 4-6 | 2-3 | shade-only | easy | toxic | 100-180 | Golden foliage that lights a dark corner, but it scorches in extreme unshaded afternoon sun here — use it on an east or north boundary rather than a west one. |
| [Wedelia Ground Cover — 6 Plants](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/wedelia-groundcover-6) | Sphagneticola trilobata | part-sun | low | high | 4-6 | 2-3 | yes | very-easy | safe (ASPCA) | 20-30 | The UAE landscaping workhorse for plain fast coverage — it roots as it runs, so it closes a gap quicker than ruellia but will cross into a lawn or path if left unedged. |
| [Tecoma / Cape Honeysuckle](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/tecoma-orange) | Tecoma capensis | full-sun | low | high | 5-7 | 3-4 | yes | very-easy | caution | 200-300 | Sprawls rather than climbs and stays a shrub — the informal flowering hedge, as distinct from the upright tree-forming Tecoma stans sold under the same nickname. |
| [Damas Tree (Conocarpus)](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/damas-tree) | Conocarpus lancifolius | full-sun | low | high | 7-10 | 3-5 | no | very-easy | safe (ASPCA) | 800-1500 | What the UAE plants along coastal highways because salt, heat and wind do not touch it — fast and evergreen, but the roots are vigorous, so keep it clear of structures. |
| [Petunia Tray — 6 Plants](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/petunia-tray-6) | Petunia × atkinsiana | full-sun | low | medium | 2-3 | 1-1 | winter-only | easy | safe (ASPCA) | 20-30 | A November-to-March plant, full stop. Petunias flower hard through a Gulf winter and then collapse in the first sustained 40°C week — plant them as a season, not as furniture, and replace them in autumn. |
| [Vinca Tray — 6 Plants](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/vinca-tray-6) | Catharanthus roseus | full-sun | low | high | 3-4 | 1-2 | yes | very-easy | toxic | 25-40 | The one bedding annual that does not quit in July. Vinca flowers straight through a Dubai summer on full sun and lives on less water than anything else with a flower on it — the exception that proves the winter-annual rule. |
| [Marigold Tray — 6 Plants](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/marigold-tray-6) | Tagetes patula | full-sun | low | medium | 2-3 | 1-1 | winter-only | very-easy | caution | 20-35 | The cheapest way to fill a winter balcony with colour, and the traditional choice for Diwali and wedding planting here. Spider mite arrives the moment the humidity drops — check leaf undersides weekly. |
| [Portulaca Tray — 6 Plants](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/portulaca-tray-6) | Portulaca grandiflora | full-sun | low | high | 4-6 | 2-3 | yes | very-easy | caution | 10-20 | A succulent pretending to be a bedding flower: it stores water in its leaves, so it survives the week you forget it in June. Flowers close in the afternoon — that is the species, not a problem. |
| [Bougainvillea 'Pink Pixie'](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/bougainvillea-pixie) | Bougainvillea glabra 'Pixie' | full-sun | low | high | 5-7 | 2-4 | yes | easy | caution | 30-60 | Dwarf bougainvillea, bred to stay in a pot. Counter-intuitive rule that catches everyone: it flowers when you keep it slightly dry and hungry — water and feed it generously and you get a healthy green bush and nothing else. |
| [Croton Outdoor (Codiaeum)](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/croton-outdoor) | Codiaeum variegatum | part-sun | medium | medium | 5-7 | 2-3 | shade-only | easy | toxic | 40-90 | Grown for the leaf colour, which only develops in strong light — but direct July sun on a west balcony scorches it. The bright-shade band is narrow, and it is exactly where a Gulf balcony is most useful. |
| [Plumbago 'Blue'](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/plumbago-blue) | Plumbago auriculata | full-sun | low | high | 4-6 | 2-3 | yes | very-easy | caution | 60-150 | One of very few genuinely blue flowers that hold colour through a Gulf summer. Sprawls rather than stands — give it something to lean on, or cut it hard twice a year and treat it as a mound. |
| [Pentas & Lantana Colour Pair](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/pentas-lantana-pair) | Pentas lanceolata + Lantana camara | full-sun | low | high | 3-5 | 1-2 | yes | very-easy | toxic | 40-80 | The butterfly-and-bee pairing, and both halves flower through the summer when most bedding has given up. Buy it for a balcony you look at, not one a toddler plays on. |
| [Gardenia (Cape Jasmine)](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/gardenia-outdoor) | Gardenia jasminoides | part-sun | medium | low | 3-4 | 1-2 | shade-only | advanced | toxic | 40-90 | The hardest plant we sell to keep here, and we would rather say so than sell you two. Gardenias need acidic soil; UAE tap water is hard and alkaline, so leaves go yellow with green veins within months unless you water with filtered or RO water and feed an acidifying fertiliser. |
| [Arabian Jasmine (Sambac / Motia) — Outdoor](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/arabian-jasmine-outdoor) | Jasminum sambac | full-sun | medium | high | 3-5 | 1-2 | yes | easy | safe (ASPCA) | 60-150 | Full, the local jasmine — this is the one grown in Gulf courtyards, and the scent peaks after sunset in exactly the months the balcony is usable. Unlike most scented plants it actually likes the heat. |
| [Star Jasmine Climber](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/jasmine-star-climber) | Trachelospermum jasminoides | part-sun | medium | medium | 3-5 | 1-2 | shade-only | easy | safe (ASPCA) | 150-300 | The standard UAE screening climber: covers a balcony rail or trellis in a season and flowers scented white in spring. Afternoon shade matters — a west-facing rail in July burns the leaf edges brown. |
| [Mandevilla Climber](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/mandevilla-climber) | Mandevilla sanderi | part-sun | medium | medium | 3-4 | 1-2 | shade-only | moderate | toxic | 100-250 | Flowers continuously through the warm months on a trellis or rail, but wants morning sun and afternoon shade here — full western exposure in summer strips the flowers and leaves you a vine. |
| [Golden Trumpet (Allamanda)](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/allamanda-golden-trumpet) | Allamanda cathartica | full-sun | low | high | 3-5 | 1-2 | yes | easy | toxic | 100-250 | Big yellow trumpets right through the hottest months on full sun, which almost nothing else manages. Genuinely toxic, so place it away from where children and dogs play rather than not at all. |
| [Crape Jasmine (Tabernaemontana)](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/crape-jasmine) | Tabernaemontana divaricata | part-sun | medium | medium | 3-5 | 1-2 | yes | easy | toxic | 90-180 | The white pinwheel shrub used across UAE landscaping because it flowers nearly year-round on part sun and asks for very little. Lightly scented in the evening, not the daytime. |
| [Cordyline Red (Ti Plant)](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/cordyline-red) | Cordyline fruticosa | part-sun | medium | low | 4-6 | 2-3 | shade-only | moderate | toxic | 60-150 | Upright burgundy colour without a flower, which is what makes it useful in a planting scheme. Leaf tips brown in dry air and hard water — it is the first plant on a balcony to tell you your water is salty. |
| [Ornamental Fountain Grass](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/ornamental-grass-pennisetum) | Pennisetum setaceum | full-sun | low | high | 5-7 | 2-4 | yes | very-easy | safe (ASPCA) | 60-120 | Movement on a windy high floor, where a stiff shrub just looks battered. Cut it to a fist in late winter and it comes back thicker; it seeds itself freely, so deadhead if you have neighbours below. |
| [Cherry Tomato Plant](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/cherry-tomato-plant) | Solanum lycopersicum var. cerasiforme | full-sun | low | medium | 2-3 | 1-1 | winter-only | easy | toxic | 60-150 | October to April is the entire UAE tomato season: above about 35°C the flowers abort and you get a healthy plant with no fruit. Plant in October, pick from December, pull it out in May. |
| [Strawberry Plant](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/strawberry-plant) | Fragaria × ananassa | full-sun | low | low | 2-3 | 1-1 | winter-only | moderate | safe (ASPCA) | 15-25 | A proper UAE winter crop and a reliable one — fruit from December through March on a sunny balcony. It will not survive a Gulf summer outdoors at any exposure, so treat it as an annual. |
| [Calamansi Lime](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/calamansi-tree) | Citrofortunella microcarpa | full-sun | medium | high | 4-6 | 1-2 | yes | easy | caution | 60-150 | The easiest citrus to fruit in a pot here and the most forgiving of Gulf heat — it flowers and fruits in overlapping flushes almost year-round. Yellowing between green veins means it wants iron, which hard local water strips. |
| [Pomegranate Tree](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/pomegranate-tree) | Punica granatum | full-sun | low | high | 5-7 | 2-3 | yes | easy | safe (ASPCA) | 100-250 | Native to this climate band and it shows — pomegranate takes Gulf summer heat and saline soil better than any other fruit tree we sell. Drops its leaves for a few weeks in winter; that is dormancy, not death. |
| [Guava Tree — 100cm](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/guava-tree) | Psidium guajava | full-sun | low | medium | 3-5 | 1-2 | yes | easy | safe (ASPCA) | 150-300 | Fruits reliably in UAE gardens and grows fast enough to be a screen within two years. Fruit fly is the real enemy here — bag the fruit or trap in spring, or you will open perfect-looking guavas full of larvae. |
| [Mango Tree — 120cm](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/mango-tree) | Mangifera indica | full-sun | low | medium | 3-5 | 1-2 | yes | moderate | caution | 150-400 | It grows here, but be honest about the timeline: a grafted tree fruits in year three to four, and flowering fails if the February humidity brings powdery mildew. A garden tree, not a balcony tree. |
| [Lemon Tree - XL](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/lemon-tree-xl) | Citrus × limon | full-sun | medium | high | 4-6 | 1-2 | yes | moderate | caution | 150-250 | A mature specimen that fruits in its first season with you rather than in three years. Citrus here is a salt-management job: water deeply enough to flush the pot, never little-and-often, or salts build and the leaf edges burn. |
| [Areca Palm — Outdoor 150cm](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/areca-palm-outdoor) | Dypsis lutescens | part-sun | medium | low | 4-6 | 1-2 | shade-only | easy | safe (ASPCA) | 150-300 | The pet-safe screening palm, and the one people most often put in the wrong place: full UAE summer sun yellows and crisps the fronds within weeks. Shaded balcony or a north/east aspect only. |
| [Traveller's Palm (Ravenala) — 200cm](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/travellers-palm) | Ravenala madagascariensis | full-sun | low | low | 3-4 | 1-1 | yes | moderate | safe (ASPCA) | 200-500 | Not a palm, and thirstier than one — the fan is spectacular but it needs consistent irrigation, and Gulf wind shreds the leaves into ribbons. Give it a sheltered corner and a drip line, or choose a foxtail instead. |
| [Yucca Rostrata — 120cm](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/yucca-rostrata) | Yucca rostrata | full-sun | medium | high | 10-14 | 5-8 | yes | very-easy | toxic | 100-200 | Blue-silver architecture that needs almost nothing: full sun, sharp drainage, and water only when the pot is bone dry. Overwatering is the single way people kill it here. |
| [Euphorbia Cactus Column](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/euphorbia-cactus) | Euphorbia trigona | full-sun | high | high | 14-21 | 7-10 | yes | very-easy | toxic | 60-180 | Not a true cactus, and the difference matters: the milky sap is caustic, unlike anything in the cactus family. Thrives on neglect in full Gulf sun, which is exactly why it ends up somewhere careless. |
| [Ficus Nitida Ball — 120cm](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/ficus-nitida-ball) | Ficus microcarpa 'Nitida' | part-sun | medium | high | 4-6 | 2-3 | yes | easy | toxic | 120-200 | The clipped ball that flanks half the villa doors in the UAE, because ficus is the one evergreen that takes the heat, the hard water and a tight trim. Budget for a shape cut two or three times a year. |
| [Hibiscus Standard Tree — 120cm](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/hibiscus-standard-tree) | Hibiscus rosa-sinensis | full-sun | low | medium | 2-4 | 1-1 | yes | moderate | safe (ASPCA) | 100-180 | A lollipop-trained hibiscus that flowers through the summer and is completely pet-safe, which is rare at this size. The trade is water: a standard in a pot in July is a daily job, not a weekly one. |
| [Desert Rose — Specimen](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/desert-rose-specimen) | Adenium obesum | full-sun | high | high | 10-14 | 5-7 | yes | easy | toxic | 50-100 | A show-specimen caudex, years older than the standard size, and perfectly suited to this climate — full sun, sharp drainage, water only when dry. Toxic enough that we would not put it at toddler height. |
| [Bougainvillea Pillar — 180cm](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/bougainvillea-pillar) | Bougainvillea spectabilis | full-sun | low | high | 5-7 | 2-4 | yes | easy | caution | 180-300 | Trained up a frame for instant height and colour against a wall. Same counter-intuitive rule as the dwarf: keep it lean and slightly dry to get flower, feed it well and you get vigorous green growth. |
| [Frangipani — Mature Specimen 200cm](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/frangipani-specimen) | Plumeria rubra | full-sun | medium | high | 7-10 | 3-5 | yes | easy | toxic | 180-300 | A mature multi-branch tree that scents a courtyard from May to October — the classic UAE pool-and-majlis plant. Bare from roughly December to March; that is normal deciduous behaviour, not a dead tree. |
| [Cedar Tree](https://heavenlyplants.ae/products/cedar-tree) | Cupressus sempervirens | full-sun | low | high | 5-7 | 2-4 | yes | moderate | safe (ASPCA) | 200-400 | The narrow Mediterranean column used for formal avenues and entrances here. It handles the heat; what it will not handle is wet feet, so it needs free-draining soil and dies in a compacted villa bed that holds irrigation water. |