West Palm Beach, FL planting calendar
- USDA zone
- 10b35 to 40 °F
- Last frost
- Nonefrost-free
- First frost
- Nonefrost-free
- Growing season
- 365days
West Palm Beach, Florida is in USDA plant hardiness zone 10b and is effectively frost-free: NOAA's 1991–2020 normals record essentially no 32°F freeze, so the growing season runs all 365 days. Warm-season crops (tomato, pepper, squash) can be grown across most of the year, with peak summer heat limiting fruit set; cool-season crops (lettuce, spinach, broccoli) do best in the mild winter, roughly October–February. The planner shows crop-by-crop timing, and every figure traces to public NOAA and USDA data.
West Palm Beach planting calendar
Each crop's windows are counted from West Palm Beach's average frost dates. hatched = start seeds indoors, solid green = plant out, teal = a fall sowing, and the terracotta dot marks the estimated first harvest. Ranges are extension-guide planning guidance, not guarantees.
- Start indoors
- Plant out
- Fall sowing
- First harvest
| Crop | Frost tolerance | Start indoors | Plant | First harvest | Fall planting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tomato | Tender | — | year-round* | — | — |
| Pepper | Very tender | — | year-round* | — | — |
| Cucumber | Tender | — | year-round* | — | — |
| Summer squash / zucchini | Tender | — | year-round* | — | — |
| Bush bean | Tender | — | year-round* | — | — |
| Sweet corn | Tender | — | year-round* | — | — |
| Basil | Very tender | — | year-round* | — | — |
| Lettuce | Half-hardy | — | year-round* | — | — |
| Pea | Hardy | — | year-round* | — | — |
| Spinach | Hardy | — | year-round* | — | — |
| Carrot | Half-hardy | — | year-round* | — | — |
| Broccoli | Half-hardy | — | year-round* | — | — |
*Frost-free: planting timing is governed by summer heat rather than frost — each crop's notes flag the hot-season limit. See the methodology for how the heat regime is handled.
Data: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (public domain) and USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023. Planting windows synthesized from U.S. Cooperative Extension guides.
Frost & freeze dates
West Palm Beach is effectively frost-free — NOAA's 1991–2020 normals record essentially no 32°F freeze at the nearest station, so the growing season is treated as year-round (365 days). Colder thresholds are shown where the station records them.
| Threshold | Last spring — avg | Last spring — 90%-safe | First fall — avg | First fall — 90%-safe | Season (days) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 36°F | Jan 17 | Feb 17 | Jan 9 | Feb 7 | 365 |
| 32°F (freeze) | — | — | — | — | 365 |
| 28°F | — | — | — | — | 365 |
| 24°F | — | — | — | — | 365 |
32°F is the standard "freeze" line that damages tender crops; lighter 36°F frost can nip the most cold-sensitive plants, while hardy crops shrug off light frost down toward 28°F. Use the threshold that matches what you are protecting.
Growing degree days
Growing degree days (GDD) accumulate warmth above a base temperature over the year — a better predictor of crop development than the calendar alone. Warm-season crops need a long, warm GDD total; a short, cool GDD total favors greens and brassicas.
| Model | °F·days | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| Base 50°F (warm-season) | 9,443 | standard warm-season base (tomato, corn, beans) |
| Base 40°F (cool-season) | 13,089 | cool-season crops (brassicas, greens) |
Hardiness zone 10b
West Palm Beach sits in USDA plant hardiness zone 10b on the 2023 map — meaning its average annual extreme minimum winter temperature is about 35 to 40 °F. That number tells you which perennials, shrubs, and trees reliably survive an average winter here; it does not set your planting dates, which come from the frost calendar above.
Explore more places in zone 10b, or see all USDA hardiness zones.
Frequently asked questions
- What USDA hardiness zone is West Palm Beach?
- West Palm Beach, Florida is in USDA plant hardiness zone 10b on the 2023 map (average annual extreme minimum temperature 35 to 40 °F) — from the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023, matched to this location's ZIP. See the methodology page for sources.
- When is the last frost in West Palm Beach?
- West Palm Beach, Florida is effectively frost-free: NOAA's 1991–2020 climate normals record essentially no 32°F freeze at the nearest station, so there is no meaningful "last frost" date and the growing season is treated as year-round.
- What can I grow year-round in West Palm Beach?
- Warm-season crops (tomato, pepper, squash, beans) can be grown across much of the year, though peak summer heat can reduce fruit set. Cool-season crops (lettuce, spinach, broccoli, peas) are best grown in the milder winter months, roughly October through February.
- How long is the growing season in West Palm Beach?
- Because West Palm Beach, Florida essentially never reaches 32°F, NOAA reports a 365-day growing season. The practical limit is heat, not frost, so planting timing is organized around avoiding the hottest months rather than the last-frost date.
Sources & method
Frost, freeze, growing-season, and growing-degree-day figures are NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 for station USW00012844 (West Palm Beach Intl Ap, 2.4 km away). The hardiness zone is the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023, matched to this location's ZIP. Planting windows are computed by counting from the average last and first frost using per-crop offsets synthesized from U.S. Cooperative Extension guides — the full method and citations are on the methodology page.