Zone 10a Planting Calendar: What to Plant Each Month
The coldest night of the winter averages 30°F to 35°F in zone 10a. Where it is, when its frosts come, and what to do in the garden each month, from extension service guidance.
Where zone 10a is
Zone 10a covers 1,234 ZIP codes in 6 states: California (623), Florida (438), Texas (95), Arizona (71), Louisiana (6), Nevada (1).
Across its 117 NOAA stations the last spring frost comes around Jan 15 and the first fall frost around Jan 1; half the stations fall between Jan 6 and Jan 25 in spring and Dec 25 and Jan 9 in fall. 4 more record no spring freeze in most years.
Cities and towns in zone 10a
Tap a town for its own frost dates and this month’s jobs; a hill or a valley a few miles off can be half a zone either side.
Zone 10a planting calendar
What to start, sow, plant, divide, prune, mulch and protect in zone 10a, month by month. Every job names the extension service page it rests on; open “Where this comes from” under a job to read their words.
Timed from the median frost dates of the 117 NOAA stations in zone 10a: last spring frost Jan 15, first fall frost Jan 1. Your own ZIP’s frost dates move every window, so the ZIP tool times them for you. In Florida, Arizona’s low desert, Southern Nevada, South Louisiana and California’s inland valleys, the state pages and the ZIP tool use those extension services’ own vegetable planting months.
Pick a month above to see every job in it.
The year at a glance
- Start vegetable seeds indoorsOct to Jan
- Sow vegetables in the gardenDec to Jan
- Sow the fall vegetable gardenSep to Nov
- Set out transplantsDec to Feb
- Plant trees and shrubsNov 20 to Jan 29
- Plant pre-chilled tulip bulbsNov 20 to Dec 31
- Divide fall-blooming perennialsDec 25 to Feb 5
- Divide spring and summer-blooming perennialsNov 20 to Jan 1
- Prune trees and summer-flowering shrubs while dormantDec 4 to Jan 15
- Prune spring-flowering shrubs after they bloomJan 1 to Feb 26
- Prune out cold damageJan 15 to Feb 26
- Cover tender plants on a freezing nightDec 25 to Jan 15
- Cut back perennials after a hard freezeJan 8 to Feb 5
What grows in zone 10a
Perennials, shrubs, trees and fruit that NC State Extension rates as hardy in zone 10a, each linked to its plant page. A plant rated for a range of zones suits every half zone in it, so “zones 4 to 8” covers 4a through 8b.
Perennials 2
- Bird of paradisezones 10a to 12b
- Elephant ear (Alocasia)zones 10a to 12b
Shrubs 6
- Bigleaf hydrangeazones 6a to 11b
- Gardeniazones 7b to 11b
- Tropical hibiscuszones 9a to 11b
- Bougainvilleazones 9b to 10b
- Oleanderzones 8a to 10b
- Ixorazones 9a to 11b
Trees 3
- Southern magnoliazones 6a to 10b
- Live oakzones 8a to 10b
- Cabbage palmettozones 7b to 11b
Fruit 9
- Figzones 7a to 10b
- Lemonzones 9a to 11b
- Avocadozones 9a to 12b
- Banana (Musa acuminata)zones 10a to 11b
- Loquatzones 8a to 11b
- Pomegranatezones 8a to 10b
- Olivezones 8a to 10b
- Pineapple guava (feijoa)zones 8a to 10b
- Pineapplezones 10a to 12b
Bulbs 4
- Cannazones 6a to 10b
- Dahliazones 7a to 10b
- Gladioluszones 7a to 10b
- Elephant ear (Colocasia)zones 8a to 11b
Ratings from the NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, read Oct 9, 2026. The zone covers winter cold only; heat, rain and soil decide the rest.
The zones next to 10a
Each half zone is five degrees. Zone 9b is five degrees colder at 25°F to 30°F. Zone 10b is five degrees warmer at 35°F to 40°F.
Zone 10a questions
Your own dates, by ZIP
Sources. USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP code tables (2023 and 2012), PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University; USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map; USDA Unveils Updated Plant Hardiness Zone Map (USDA Agricultural Research Service, November 15, 2023); NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020, annual/seasonal, by station (v1.0.1); NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox. Zone frost dates are the medians of the NOAA 1991 to 2020 station normals inside the zone.
The calendar’s extension sources:
- UNH Cooperative Extension, Growing Vegetables: When to Plant your Vegetable Garden, read Sep 21, 2026.
- University of Minnesota Extension, Planting vegetables in midsummer for a fall harvest, read Oct 9, 2026.
- University of Illinois Extension, Planting a fall vegetable garden (Good Growing), read Oct 9, 2026.
- University of Minnesota Extension, Dividing perennials, read Oct 9, 2026.
- Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, How should I prepare my perennial beds for winter?, read Oct 9, 2026.
- University of Minnesota Extension, Pruning trees and shrubs, read Oct 9, 2026.
- Rutgers NJAES Cooperative Extension, Pruning Flowering Shrubs (FS1221), read Oct 9, 2026.
- University of Maryland Extension, Planting a Tree or Shrub, read Oct 9, 2026.
- University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension, Preparing Landscape Plants for Winter, read Oct 9, 2026.
- University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension, Storing Tender Bulbs for Winter, read Oct 9, 2026.
- Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, All About Tulips, read Oct 9, 2026.
- UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions, Tulips, read Oct 9, 2026.
- UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions, Preparing the Landscape for Cold Weather, read Oct 9, 2026.
- UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions, Treating Cold-Damaged Plants, read Oct 9, 2026.