Regional guide · hardiness Zone 10

Subtropical: no real winter, and a summer you garden around.

Zone 10 is South Florida, coastal Southern California from Santa Barbara to San Diego, and the southern tip of Texas. Frost is rare. Florida’s year is shaped by the hot wet summer; California’s by the dry summer and mild wet winter. Tropical fruit becomes practical, and the traditional vegetable garden runs from October to May.

Winter low

−1 to 4°C

30 to 40°F

Frost-free days

330–365

Typical frost window

Rare; a light frost every few years inland.

Regions in Zone 10

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Gardening in Zone 10

Grow vegetables in the cool season, tropical fruit year-round, and treat summer as a time for heat-proof crops, cover crops and soil building (in Florida) or careful irrigation (in California). Chill hours are too low for most temperate fruit.

Vegetables that thrive

  • Tomatoes, peppers and eggplant planted September–February
  • Lettuce, brassicas, carrots, beets and peas October–March
  • Okra, sweet potatoes, southern peas, yard-long beans and roselle in summer
  • Chayote, cassava, taro and Seminole pumpkin (Florida)
  • Herbs: basil year-round, cilantro in winter
  • Beans and cucumbers in fall and spring
  • Sweet corn in spring
  • Tropical spinach substitutes (Malabar, Okinawa, longevity spinach)

Fruit

  • Mango, avocado and lychee (Florida; avocado in California)
  • Banana and papaya
  • Citrus of every kind
  • Guava, passionfruit and dragon fruit
  • Starfruit, jackfruit and sapodilla (South Florida)
  • Figs, pomegranates and low-chill peaches
  • Macadamia and cherimoya (California)
  • Pineapple in containers

Reliable perennials & shrubs

  • Bougainvillea, hibiscus and plumeria
  • Bird of paradise
  • Palms of all kinds
  • Succulents and aloes (California)
  • Ixora and croton (Florida)
  • Rosemary and lavender (California)

Zone tips

  • Reverse the northern calendar: your main planting date is October.
  • Florida: build soil constantly (mulch, compost, cover crops) and plant nematode-resistant varieties.
  • California: irrigate deeply and mulch; plant most things in fall so winter rains establish them.
  • Fruit trees need protection from wind more than cold; stake and prune for hurricanes/Santa Anas.

Fishing in Zone 10

Saltwater dominates: snook, tarpon, redfish and permit on the Florida flats, sailfish and mahi offshore, and largemouth bass and peacock bass in the lakes and canals. In California, halibut, calico bass, yellowtail and surf perch, plus trout in the mountains. Everything fishes year-round.

Signature species

  • Snook, tarpon and redfish (Florida inshore)
  • Largemouth bass (Lake Okeechobee) and peacock bass (canals)
  • Permit, bonefish and sea trout (Keys and flats)
  • Mahi, sailfish, kingfish and grouper offshore
  • Halibut, calico bass and white seabass (California)
  • Yellowtail and surf perch
  • Speckled trout and redfish (South Texas bays)
  • Bluegill and crappie in freshwater

Seasons, limits and licences vary by province and state; every local guide links to the right regulator.

Foraging in Zone 10

Fruit falls from trees in the suburbs, and the wild offers sea grapes, cocoplum, prickly pear, seaweed and mushrooms after rains. Identification and land rules matter; many public lands prohibit harvesting.

What to look for

  • Sea grapes and cocoplum (Florida coast)
  • Feral mango, avocado, citrus and loquat (with permission)
  • Prickly pear fruit and pads
  • Saw palmetto berries and hearts of palm (only from felled trees)
  • Chanterelles and oyster mushrooms after summer rains (Florida)
  • Miner's lettuce, wild fennel, mustard and nasturtium (California)
  • Acorns and walnuts (California)
  • Seaweed, mussels and clams (California, licence required; check red-tide closures)

Never eat anything you cannot identify with certainty. Confirm with a regional field guide or local expert.

The Zone 10 year

  1. January–February

    Peak vegetable harvest; plant a last round of tomatoes; citrus and avocado; sailfish season.

  2. March–April

    Spring harvest; mangoes set; snook and tarpon arrive; halibut in California bays.

  3. May–June

    Wind down cool crops; plant heat crops; mango and lychee harvest; tarpon peak.

  4. July–August

    Heat and (Florida) rains: cover crops, okra, sweet potatoes; offshore fishing; summer mushrooms.

  5. September–October

    Main planting season begins; redfish and snook feed up; California fall planting.

  6. November–December

    Cool-season garden in full swing; light-frost watch inland; excellent bass fishing.

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