The use of hydrogel has been a viable and promising management strategy for forest seedlings. We aimed to evaluate the effect of hydrogel on Schinus terebinthifolia Raddi seedlings subjected to water deficit and after normal water supply post-stress. The water management evaluated were: i) Control: plants irrigated daily, ii) Drought: water deficit (irrigation suspension), and iii) Drought + hydrogel: addition of the polymer when transplanting seedlings. Assessments were carried out in three periods: (a) P1 - photosynthesis (A) was monitored until plants in one of the drought water regimes presented values close to 1.0 μmol CO2 m-2 s-1, (b) Recovery (REC) - after P1, seedlings were subjected to resumption of irrigation similar to control, until plants previously subjected to drought without or with hydrogel showed to A ≥ 70% at control. In Post-Rec (c) - at end of REC, the seedlings received + 90 days of irrigation. The quantum photochemical potential efficiency in photosystem II and absorbed energy conversion remained higher with hydrogel in P1. The hydrogel alleviates the stressful effect drought on physiology of seedlings, mitigating the reduction of photosynthesis in P1 and contributes for recovery of growth characteristics, biomass and quality of seedlings in the Post-Rec. S. terebinthifolia seedlings showed phenotypic plasticity with potential of resilience for their recovery.