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City guide · Zone 11a

What to plant in San Diego, California

A full-sun bed in San Diego: Upright rosemary 'Tuscan Blue', Pink muhly grass, African iris, Mexican bush sage, Mexican snowball. Zone 11a, frost is rare.

Semi-arid coast with mild temperatures all year. Excellent for succulents and low-water Mediterranean plants.

Preview: plant data is awaiting horticulturist review. A professional horticulturist hasn't reviewed our plant table yet. Lists still follow fixed rules for zone, sun, pets, deer and invasive status.

San Diego, California at a glance

Hardiness zone (2023 USDA)
11a (ZIP 92101)
Typical last spring frost
Rare
Typical first fall frost
Rare
Spring planting window
January to March, or at the start of the rainy season
Fall planting window
November to January
Annual rainfall (approx.)
10 in

Frost dates are typical metro values, not forecasts. Dry summers and wet winters mean summer water, not winter cold, decides what thrives; many plants need irrigation to survive. Our lists for San Diego use the rules for California.

Zone: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, 2023 (USDA Agricultural Research Service; data by the PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University). ZIP code to state data: GeoNames (geonames.org), CC BY 4.0.

A full-sun bed in San Diego

6 or more hours of direct summer sun, 12 × 6 ft.

12 × 6 ft · Zone 11a · 6+ hours of sun · Low-water

  • Upright rosemary 'Tuscan Blue'

    × 4

    Salvia rosmarinus 'Tuscan Blue'

    Structure · Back of bed · 3-gallon pot · 2.5 ft apart · grows 4–6 ft tall · Jan–Apr

    Can't find it? Use Indian hawthorn.

  • Pink muhly grass

    × 3

    Muhlenbergia capillaris

    Grass · Middle of bed · 1-gallon pot · 2.5 ft apart · grows 2.5–3.5 ft tall · Sep–Nov

    Can't find it? Use Mat rush 'Breeze'.

  • African iris

    × 3

    Dietes iridioides

    Filler · Middle of bed · 1-gallon pot · 2 ft apart · grows 2–3 ft tall · Mar–Oct

    Can't find it? Use Bulbine or Autumn sage.

  • Mexican bush sage

    × 3

    Salvia leucantha

    Filler · Back of bed · 1-gallon pot · 3 ft apart · grows 3–4 ft tall · Aug–Nov

  • Mexican snowball

    × 7

    Echeveria elegans

    Edge · Edge of bed · 4-inch pot · 0.8 ft apart · grows 3–6 in tall · Mar–May

    Can't find it? Use Silver carpet.

Kinds

5

Plants

20

Coverage

95%

Gravel

0.44 cu yd

Gravel or decomposed granite: 0.44 cu yd at 2 in deep (6 bags of 2 cu ft). Plants cover about 95% of the 72 sq ft bed when mature.

A part-shade bed in San Diego

2 to 4 hours of direct summer sun, 12 × 6 ft.

Our plant table doesn't have enough plants for this yet: it can't fill a full bed for 2 to 4 hours of direct summer sun in zone 11a.

A shady bed in San Diego

Under 2 hours of direct summer sun, 12 × 6 ft.

Our plant table doesn't have enough plants for this yet: it can't fill a full bed for under 2 hours of direct summer sun in zone 11a.

Questions and answers

What hardiness zone is San Diego, California in?
Central San Diego (ZIP 92101) is in zone 11a on the 2023 USDA map: the coldest night of an average winter falls between 40°F and 45°F. Suburbs can be half a zone colder.
When is the last frost in San Diego?
Frost is rare in central San Diego, so planting time depends more on heat and rain than on frost.
When should I plant shrubs and perennials in San Diego?
In spring, January to March, or at the start of the rainy season; in fall, November to January. Fall planting gives roots a cool, moist season to settle before summer.
How many plants do I need for a 12 × 6 ft bed in San Diego?
Our full-sun bed list for San Diego uses 20 plants of 5 kinds, plus 6 bags of mulch.

How this page was made

This page was generated from FloraVista's plant table by fixed rules: the rules engine composed each list for the city's 2023 USDA zone, its region's summers and its state's invasive lists. The frost dates and rainfall are approximate metro values. No person or chat model chose these plants, and no named expert has reviewed this page.

Data status: the plant table is awaiting review by a horticulturist. Check each plant with a local nursery or extension office before you buy.

Sources

  • Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder, state extension services and the USDA PLANTS database (zones, size, sun, water, bloom, native range)
  • ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists (dog and cat toxicity)
  • Rutgers NJAES and regional extension deer-resistance ratings
  • State noxious-weed and invasive-plant lists and the Invasive Plant Atlas of the US
  • Typical US garden-centre listings (pot size and price band)
  • USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, 2023. Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. Data by the PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University.
  • ZIP code to state data: GeoNames (geonames.org), licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Generated . How FloraVista chooses plants