Zone 11a Planting Calendar: What to Plant Each Month
The coldest night of the winter averages 40°F to 45°F in zone 11a. Where it is, when its frosts come, and what to do in the garden each month, from extension service guidance.
Where zone 11a is
Zone 11a covers 205 ZIP codes in 3 states: Florida (169), California (28), Hawaii (8).
Its NOAA stations record no spring freeze in most years.
Cities and towns in zone 11a
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 11a planting calendar
What to start, sow, plant, divide, prune, mulch and protect in zone 11a, 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.
Most of zone 11a sees no frost to count from, so the vegetable months come straight from University of Florida IFAS Extension’s Florida Vegetable Gardening Guide for South Florida (south of State Road 70).
Pick a month above to see every job in it.
The year at a glance
- Plant vegetables: South Florida (south of State Road 70)Aug to Apr
- Plant pre-chilled tulip bulbsNov 20 to Dec 31
What grows in zone 11a
Perennials, shrubs, trees and fruit that NC State Extension rates as hardy in zone 11a, 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 4
- Bigleaf hydrangeazones 6a to 11b
- Gardeniazones 7b to 11b
- Tropical hibiscuszones 9a to 11b
- Ixorazones 9a to 11b
Trees 1
- Cabbage palmettozones 7b to 11b
Fruit 5
- Lemonzones 9a to 11b
- Avocadozones 9a to 12b
- Banana (Musa acuminata)zones 10a to 11b
- Loquatzones 8a to 11b
- Pineapplezones 10a to 12b
Bulbs 1
- 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 11a
Each half zone is five degrees. Zone 10b is five degrees colder at 35°F to 40°F. Zone 11b is five degrees warmer at 45°F to 50°F.
Zone 11a 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.