Conditional — Some Areas
Alexandria laurel (zones 11-12) reaches only part of Florida (8b-12a): zones 11-12 are in range, so where you are in the state decides it.
Alexandria Laurel in Florida — the short answer
Alexandria Laurel in Florida: hardy in zones 11–12, full sun.
- Plant zones
- 11-12
- Hardy to zone 10b: Tropical Plants Database (Useful Tropical Plants) lists -1 °C, converted to zone 10b, checked Oct 2026. The source rates it slightly hardier than our range. Ceiling: our plant database.
- Florida zones
- 8b-12a
- USDA PHZM 2023
- Frost window
- Jan 25 - Feb 10 – Dec 7 - Dec 18
- NOAA RCC ACIS 1991-2020, 28°F
- Shortest county season
- 281 days
- NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020, county 28°F killing freeze
Plant data: Growable Ground Plant Database, compiled from FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS and university Extension sources — per-field provenance varies and is published with the dataset.
Your yard isn't the whole zone.
Florida spans zones 8b-12a, but your yard sits in exactly one — and slope, tree cover, and cold-air pockets nudge it further. Enter your address and we'll score alexandria laurel against your parcel's actual hardiness, soil, and sun.
We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
No card required · your parcel report in seconds — read in full free for your first 14 days
Florida is not one climate
Florida’s winter-low ladder runs across 67 counties, from zone 8.5 in Holmes County to zone 10.5 in Palm Beach County. That is 20°F between the two counties’ average coldest night — the difference between alexandria laurel overwintering in the ground and coming under cover.
The middle half of 67 counties runs 9–10 zones, with a median of 9.5 zones — a 2-zone span end to end.
Measured across 67 Florida counties. USDA PHZM 2023, per county. Quartiles are order statistics — every figure shown is a value a real county recorded, not an interpolation. Your own site sits somewhere inside this range; a parcel report resolves where.
Where Alexandria Laurel Stands in Florida
Alexandria Laurel is rated for zones 11–12 — a cold floor USDA puts at 40 to 50°F. No Florida county sits inside it, so in open ground this is a grown-under-cover plant here rather than a bed plant — which is a statement about Florida winters, not about alexandria laurel.
Below the zone 11 floor
67 counties
- Holmes County · zone 8b
- Alachua County · zone 9a
- Baker County · zone 9a
3 of 67 shown
Winter cold is the limit here — the same plant works in a container that comes under cover.
County hardiness zones: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM) 2023, per county. A zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme minimum temperature, so the floor above is the band the plant's rating denotes, not a single measured kill point. Slope, shelter and cold-air drainage routinely move a site half a zone either way from its county figure — which is the part only your address resolves.
Zone Comparison
Alexandria Laurel Needs
- USDA Zones: 11-12
- Sun: Full Sun
- Mature size: 40 ft tall
- Drought tolerance: High
Florida Has
- USDA Zones: 8b-12a
- Last Hard Freeze (28°F): Jan 25 - Feb 10
- First Hard Freeze (28°F): Dec 7 - Dec 18
- Annual Rainfall: 50-65 inches
- Common Soils: Sandy, Muck (Everglades), Shell-rock (Keys)
Plant Zone Range (zones 11-12)
Preferred Soil pH
Plant data: Growable Ground Plant Database, compiled from FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS, and university Extension sources — per-field provenance varies and is published with the dataset. State data: USDA ARS PHZM 2023, NOAA Climate Normals, NRCS SSURGO.
When to Plant Alexandria Laurel in Florida
The frost window
Across Florida, the last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Jan 25 and Feb 10, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Dec 7 and Dec 18 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Counting from the latest last freeze to the earliest first freeze, that's a 300-day window you can count on — up to 327 days on a mild site in a kind year. That marks the hard freeze, not the last light frost, so tender transplants usually wait another 2-3 weeks.
Winter standing
Florida runs as cold as USDA zone 8, and no sourced winter-hardiness floor is on record for alexandria laurel, so this page does not state whether it overwinters here — and gives no fall establishment date on the strength of a guess. Whether alexandria laurel is a permanent planting or a replant-every-spring crop for you turns on your own zone within Florida; check its hardiness range against that before treating it as long-lived ground.
Timing tuned to sub-state frost dates — Holmes County, not the statewide average.
Frost window: NOAA Climate Normals 1991-2020. Plant timing fields: Growable Ground Plant Database — frost-free days from FAO ECOCROP, days to harvest from university Extension production guides, and growing-degree-day and chill-hour minimums that are compilation estimates rather than published figures. Your site's own frost dates can run earlier or later than the state range — a parcel report pins them down.
Soil + Drainage Fit
Alexandria Laurel tolerates a wide pH range (pH 5-8) — 3 units, acid ground through alkaline — so soil acidity is rarely what limits it in Florida. A soil test is still worth having, but for what else it tells you about this site, not to clear this plant. It will grow across that whole span, but it does best between pH 5.5 and 7 — worth knowing before you decide whether a Florida soil test result is a problem or just a number. Drainage requirement: poorly (saturated >50% of year). A soil-survey lookup (NRCS SSURGO) flags whether your specific site matches.
Your land, not the state average
Florida's soils run mostly fine sand, but SSURGO maps the series, texture, and drainage under your exact parcel. Alexandria Laurel needs about 7 inches of workable depth, so it is that horizon — not the surface — you are testing for. That map unit, not the state average, decides how alexandria laurel performs.
Check your parcel → Source: USDA NRCS SSURGO.
Plant pH requirements: FAO ECOCROP and USDA PLANTS, with the remaining rows from other published sources or Growable Ground compilation. Drainage: FAO ECOCROP, with the remaining rows from other published sources or Growable Ground compilation. Florida soil profile from USDA NRCS SSURGO. Site-specific verification: a 30-minute soil test from your local Extension lab.
Before you plant alexandria laurel for food
Anything you grow to eat takes up what is in the ground it grows in, so what is on record near you is worth knowing before alexandria laurel goes in. What follows is Florida’s documented federal record at state scale — a screening signal, not a soil test, and not a statement about any one lot.
Safe to Grow Here?
What the federal record shows across Florida — and how to grow with it.
We checked the federal record across Florida — 43,701 documented sites across 6 of the 8 source types we track.
The most significant on record: 602 Superfund sites. Sites tracked in EPA's Superfund program — from assessment-stage CERCLIS entries to confirmed National Priorities List cleanup sites.
Florida carries one of the heavier federal records we track — and that's not a verdict on your yard. Proximity to a documented site is information, not a diagnosis: nothing here says any particular parcel is affected. It does earn one concrete step — before food beds go in the ground, a professional soil test tells you exactly what you're working with, and raised beds of imported, lab-tested soil grow well almost anywhere in the meantime.
Sources Checked
across Florida
Severity Distribution
across Florida
Highest-Severity Sites
Know Before You Grow
- •Underground tanks leak petroleum as they age — near a former filling station, test the soil.
- •TRI facilities report what they release. Check the wind — downwind beds catch more of it.
- •Near a brownfield, a raised bed of imported, lab-tested soil lowers contact with the ground; it does not remove it.
Sources: EPA, USGS — 950K documented sites tracked nationwide across 8 federal source types.
What Else to Consider for Alexandria Laurel in Florida
Zone compatibility tells you about winter cold survival — but Florida growers also need to think about:
Sandy soils drain too fast and hold few nutrients — frequent fertilization needed
Humidity drives fungal diseases (powdery mildew, black spot, rust)
Hurricane season (June-November) can destroy plantings
Nematodes are a serious pest in sandy FL soils
Growing alexandria laurel here specifically
Florida's soils run mostly fine sand (Spodosols), and whether that suits alexandria laurel's pH 5.0–8.0 preference comes down to your exact parcel, not the statewide picture.
Pull your parcel's SSURGO map unit, test pH, and amend toward alexandria laurel's 5.0–8.0 target before planting. How to handle it →
What to actually do about these — and the constraints that apply to every Florida grower, not just alexandria laurel — is covered on the Florida growing guide.
Timing shifts within Florida
Florida isn't one climate. In Holmes County, the last hard freeze (28°F) holds until about Feb 20 — roughly 16 days later than the recorded state median — so plant alexandria laurel to your county's window, not the statewide date.
County last-freeze dates: NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS (1991-2020), county 28°F freeze (earlier than the folk 32°F "last frost"). A parcel report resolves your address's own frost dates.
Where in Florida Alexandria Laurel Is Zone-Hardy
Alexandria Laurel is rated for USDA zones 11–12. No Florida county reaches it. Even Palm Beach County, the state’s mildest winter at zone 10b, sits below the plant’s zone 11 floor — so in open ground this one needs winter protection here, or a container that comes under cover.
Across those 67 counties Florida’s winter-low ladder runs from zone 8b in Holmes County to zone 10b in Palm Beach County — 2 USDA zones of spread, which is 20°F between the two counties’ average coldest night of the year. None of that range reaches the band alexandria laurel needs, so here the statewide answer really is the answer.
County hardiness zones: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM) 2023, per county. Alexandria Laurel’s zone 11–12 band: Hardy to zone 10b: Tropical Plants Database (Useful Tropical Plants) lists -1 °C, converted to zone 10b, checked Oct 2026. The source rates it slightly hardier than our range. Ceiling: our plant database.. A parcel report resolves your address’s own zone and frost dates rather than its county’s.
Pollinator + Wildlife Value
Alexandria Laurel draws honeybees and native bees (moderate value). Planting it near vegetable beds can lift fruit set on neighboring crops. Outdoors, alexandria laurel can only work that bloom inside Florida's frost window — roughly 320 days, opening after the last 28°F freeze (Jan 25 - Feb 10) and closing at the first (Dec 7 - Dec 18), per NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020. Pollinator value: We haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.
Good to Know Before You Plant Alexandria Laurel
Alexandria Laurel is listed as toxic to dogs, cats (seeds) at a moderate level. (Source: Cornell Poisonous Plants Database.) Most listed plants only cause brief upset — a raised bed or a fenced corner usually keeps curious pets clear. Parts of alexandria laurel carry slight for people, so know which parts are edible before harvest.
Florida Cooperative Extension
For Florida-specific cultivar recommendations, planting calendars, and pest pressure for alexandria laurel, the canonical source is UF/IFAS Extension. Their fact sheets carry the local trial data we can't generalize across 50 states.
Is Alexandria Laurel native to Florida?
No — the USDA PLANTS Database lists Alexandria Laurel as introduced rather than native in the Lower 48, so it is not part of Florida's native flora. It grows here as a garden plant; pairing it with a few Florida natives keeps local pollinators fed too.
Looking for plants that belong here? The Florida growing guide lists plants that USDA PLANTS records growing in Florida and that Kew and NatureServe Explorer both list in its native range, leaving out any that NatureServe flags as exotic there or that our audit holds.
State records: USDA PLANTS Database state-distribution data (presence, not state-level nativity), accessed 2026-10-19.
Common Questions About Growing Alexandria Laurel in Florida
When can I plant Alexandria Laurel in Florida?
Florida's last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Jan 25 and Feb 10, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Dec 7 and Dec 18 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). No sourced winter-hardiness floor is on record for Alexandria Laurel, so this page does not state whether it overwinters in Florida and publishes no fall establishment date for it — check its hardiness range against your own zone before treating it as a permanent planting.
What hardiness zone is Alexandria Laurel grown in across Florida?
Florida spans USDA hardiness zones 8b-12a (USDA ARS PHZM 2023). Alexandria Laurel carries a range of zones 11-12, so the overlap zones are where outdoor growing is most reliable.
How many frost-free days does a typical Florida site have?
A typical Florida site sees ~320 frost-free days per year (derived from NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Alexandria Laurel needs 365+ frost-free days, so check whether your local microclimate runs above or below the state average before settling on a planting date. In cooler counties like Holmes, the freeze-free season runs shorter than the state average, so verify your own county's window.
Is Alexandria Laurel native to Florida?
No — the USDA PLANTS Database lists Alexandria Laurel as introduced rather than native in the Lower 48, so it is not part of Florida's native flora. It grows here as a garden plant; pairing it with a few Florida natives keeps local pollinators fed too.
How should I amend the soil for Alexandria Laurel in Florida?
Alexandria Laurel tolerates pH 5-8 and poorly (saturated >50% of year) drainage (FAO ECOCROP). That is a 3-unit span, acid ground through alkaline, so pH is rarely what limits this plant on a Florida site — amend for drainage and organic matter first.
Will Alexandria Laurel actually grow on my specific land in Florida?
State-level zone + climate data is a sketch. A Growable Ground parcel report scores alexandria laurel against your address's mapped soil pH, drainage, sun, and frost-date data drawn from USDA SSURGO, NOAA, and PRISM — not state averages.
Check your specific parcel in Florida
State-level data is a sketch. Your Growable Ground report scores alexandria laurel against your land's mapped soil, modelled sun, drainage, and frost data — not zone averages.
Three things about your lot that Florida alexandria laurel averages can't show:
We read public map data around Florida — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
25+ data sources read at your address, not the Florida alexandria laurel average
Explore More
Growing guides for alexandria laurel
Explore Florida county by county
Florida carries 67 counties with their own USDA zone — a sample of the growing pages for alexandria laurel there:
Where else alexandria laurel grows
Alexandria Laurel's zone band crosses state lines — these are the states closest to Florida in winter climate where it also has a page, plus the far ends of its range. Each one re-answers the question with that state's own record.
More to grow in Florida
Florida has a growing page for 1,029 plants — a rotating sample of the rest of the shelf.
Analysis by the Growable Ground research team, grounded in USDA PLANTS, USDA NRCS SSURGO, NOAA Climate Normals (1991-2020), and named Cooperative Extension sources. How we know →
Cite this dataset
Kirchick, M. (2026). Growable Ground Plant Database [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21435643
Licensed CC BY-NC 4.0. DOI 10.5281/zenodo.21435643
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