What Grows in Lomita, California

USDA Zones 10b · 1K acres

Lomita, California, sits in USDA hardiness zone 10b — enough range to grow cool-season vegetables, hardy fruit, and warm-season crops that mature before the first hard frost.

Reliable performers under these conditions include artichoke, meyer lemon, california poppy, and cabbage; what your own ground favors still comes down to its soil, sun, and drainage.

Score your parcel · free

Even in Lomita, no two yards are alike.

A low spot, a south-facing slope, or a stand of trees moves the frost date and sun across a single Lomita lot. Enter your address and we'll score 1,086 plants against your land's actual soil, sun, and frost.

We read public map data around Lomita — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.

No card required · your full report in seconds

Lomita — the short answer

Lomita, California: USDA zone 10b, no 28°F killing freeze on record — the season is year-round, across 1K acres of city.

USDA zone
10b
USDA PHZM 2023
Killing freeze
None on record
NOAA RCC ACIS 1991–2020, this town’s own record
City area
1K acres
US Census TIGER/Line 2025

Every figure names the dataset it came from. The year-round finding is measured — a 30-year record with no 28°F killing freeze in it — never inferred from missing dates.

Hardiness Zone Range

10b10b
3a (Cold)13b (Hot)

Zone 10b is Lomita's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Lomita's no killing freeze on record, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Lomita

Each reading below is measured for Lomita itself — here is what it means for a garden here, and the move an experienced grower makes about it.

Winter hardiness

Measured

Lomita sits in USDA hardiness zone 10b.

The zone sets which perennials, shrubs, and fruit trees live through an average winter here — a plant rated for a colder zone is a safe bet, one rated warmer needs winter protection or gets treated as an annual.

Match perennials and fruit to the zone before you buy, so nothing you plant is a gamble against the cold.

USDA PHZM 2023

The kind of country Lomita is in

Lomita sits in the Southern California/Northern Baja Coast — EPA Level III, inside the wider Mediterranean California. That is read at Lomita's own centroid rather than borrowed from Los Angeles County.

What that means for soil

What Grows in Lomita

Every plant below cleared Lomita's own zone 10b. Each card opens that plant's California profile. How we score.

artichoke, photograph
Growing artichoke in CaliforniaZones 7–11Lomita's 10b — 3 zones of cold margin.
Meyer lemon, photograph
California meyer lemon guideZones 9–11Lomita's 10b — 1 zone of cold margin.
California poppy, photograph
California poppy in CaliforniaZones 6–10Lomita's 10b — 4 zones of cold margin.
cabbage, photograph
Cabbage: California growing notesZones 2–11Lomita's 10b — 8 zones of cold margin.
avocado, photograph
Growing avocado in CaliforniaZones 9–11Lomita's 10b — 1 zone of cold margin.
rosemary, photograph
California rosemary guideZones 8–10Lomita's 10b — 2 zones of cold margin.
collard greens, photograph
Collard greens in CaliforniaZones 2–11Lomita's 10b — 8 zones of cold margin.
banana, photograph
Banana: California growing notesZones 9–11Lomita's 10b — 1 zone of cold margin.
ashwagandha, photograph
Growing ashwagandha in CaliforniaZones 8–12Lomita's 10b — 2 zones of cold margin.
kale, photograph
California kale guideZones 2–11Lomita's 10b — 8 zones of cold margin.
citrus, photograph
Citrus in CaliforniaZones 9–11Lomita's 10b — 1 zone of cold margin.
potato, photograph
Potato: California growing notesZones 2–11Lomita's 10b — 8 zones of cold margin.
garlic, photograph
Growing garlic in CaliforniaZones 2–10Lomita's 10b — 8 zones of cold margin.
cassava, photograph
California cassava guideZones 8–12Lomita's 10b — 2 zones of cold margin.
eggplant, photograph
Eggplant in CaliforniaZones 2–12Lomita's 10b — 8 zones of cold margin.
lantana, photograph
Lantana: California growing notesZones 10–11Lomita's 10b is its exact cold limit.
begonia, photograph
Growing begonia in CaliforniaZones 10–11Lomita's 10b is its exact cold limit.
Apache plume, photograph
California apache plume guideZones 5–11Lomita's 10b — 5 zones of cold margin.
black-eyed Susan vine, photograph
Black-eyed Susan vine in CaliforniaZones 10–11Lomita's 10b is its exact cold limit.
plumeria, photograph
Plumeria: California growing notesZones 10–12Lomita's 10b is its exact cold limit.
salvia, photograph
Growing salvia in CaliforniaZones 2–11Lomita's 10b — 8 zones of cold margin.
holly, photograph
California holly guideZones 5–11Lomita's 10b — 5 zones of cold margin.
bougainvillea, photograph
Bougainvillea in CaliforniaZones 9–11Lomita's 10b — 1 zone of cold margin.
mountain laurel, photograph
Mountain laurel: California growing notesZones 5–11Lomita's 10b — 5 zones of cold margin.
moringa, photograph
Growing moringa in CaliforniaZones 9–12Lomita's 10b — 1 zone of cold margin.
Vuda blue grass, photograph
California vuda blue grass guideZones 8–13Lomita's 10b — 2 zones of cold margin.
ajuga, photograph
Ajuga in CaliforniaZones 5–11Lomita's 10b — 5 zones of cold margin.
palo verde, photograph
Palo verde: California growing notesZones 8–11Lomita's 10b — 2 zones of cold margin.
cogon grass, photograph
Growing cogon grass in CaliforniaZones 8–13Lomita's 10b — 2 zones of cold margin.
liriope, photograph
California liriope guideZones 5–11Lomita's 10b — 5 zones of cold margin.

What's on the federal record near Lomita

Closest first, within ~10 miles of Lomita. Listing isn't leaking, and distance isn't exposure.

  1. LOMITA-CITY, WATER DEPT.PFAS · 150 ft
  2. ANDY KURBYBrownfields · 600 ft
  3. RON HAMERSMABrownfields · 800 ft
  4. LOS ANGELES COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT - FS 006Brownfields · 1000 ft
  5. PNS BIG LOTS #4136Brownfields · 1200 ft
  6. SHANNON S YOON DDSBrownfields · 1200 ft
  7. LAUSD-FLEMING MIDDLE SCHOOLBrownfields · 1300 ft
  8. OHS 1 HR PHOTOBrownfields · 1400 ft
  9. TARGET STORE T3451Brownfields · 1400 ft
  10. CVS PHARMACY #17891Brownfields · 1400 ft
  11. OAK CLEANERSBrownfields · 1400 ft
  12. 99 CENTS ONLY STORESBrownfields · 1400 ft

6 more sites are on the record inside the same radius. See them on the map

Measured from Lomita's center, not your beds. Run your own address for what's upwind of you specifically.

Environmental Intelligence

The counts behind that headline — every source type on the record near Lomita.

Total Sites

10,638

within ~10 miles of Lomita

Risk Level

High

Highest-severity

51 Superfund sites

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Lomita

High15Moderate1,224Low9,399

Highest-Severity Sites

Burdick Minerals Corp.
Mining Sites · Past Producer
California Water Service CO. - Dominguez
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
California Water Service CO. - Herm/Redo
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
California Water Service CO. - Palos Ver
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
Compton-City, Water Dept.
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected

A note from Gnorman

What an experienced grower watches for around here

In and around Lomita, Brownfields runs higher than the national average — 9,399 sites within ~10 miles of Lomita. Knowing it is half the work — and it's nothing a thoughtful grower can't plan for.

Brownfields: Brownfield sites are former commercial or industrial properties where legacy soil contamination (heavy metals, PAHs, petroleum compounds) may persist.

Check EPA brownfield remediation status — many sites have completed cleanup with institutional controls.

Free Report

Check your specific parcel in Lomita

Get exact proximity distances to contamination sources for your specific parcel — plus soil, sun, drainage, and 1,086 plant recommendations.

25+ data sources read at your address, not the Lomita average

Your land is one point inside Lomita

Everything above resolves to Lomita as a whole — one PHZM band and one 28°F frost record, read across 1K acres. Your parcel is one point inside that footprint. Slope, tree cover, a low spot that pools cold air, and what is in the soil are all resolved at the address, and none of them are visible at city scale. That is the honest boundary of this page, and the reason the next step is a reading of your own ground rather than a better local average.

Your Lot vs the Lomita Average

Lomita Average

  • USDA Zones 10b, averaged across Lomita
  • One soil character for all of Lomita
  • State-average frost dates

YOUR Parcel

  • Your exact zone, not Lomita's 10b
  • Your SSURGO soil type & pH
  • Your sun exposure, cast in 3D

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Lomita

Pull a site-specific report for your exact address in Lomita, California — soil, sun, drainage, frost risk, and scored plant recommendations.

Three things about your lot that Lomita averages can't show:

Your soil pHYour frost-free daysYour sun & shade

We read public map data around Lomita — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.

25+ data sources read at your address, not the Lomita average

How we know this about Lomita

The datasets: hardiness from the USDA ARS Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023, read at this city’s own centroid; hard-freeze dates from NOAA 1991–2020 28°F normals, with the labelled statewide window where none resolves; boundaries and acreage from US Census TIGER/Line 2025; the contamination records from the federal sources named in their beats above. Soil is not read at city grain anywhere on this page — there is no city-resolution survey in our data, which is why you will find no soil grid here rather than a statewide one wearing a local label. The resolution ledger below names every figure this page inherited.

Common questions about Lomita

Is it too late to plant in Lomita?

No — Lomita has no 28°F killing freeze in the 30-year station record, so the growing season is year-round and there is no last-frost date to wait for. Planting is paced by rainfall, heat and daylength instead of by frost: start heat-lovers any month, and time cool-season crops (lettuce, brassicas, peas) for the cooler, wetter half of the year or for higher ground. Succession sowing every few weeks works all year, so the limit is what you can keep watered and harvested, not the calendar.

When does frost risk typically end in Lomita?

It doesn't — Lomita records no 28°F killing freeze at all across the 1991–2020 station record, so there is no spring frost date to plant after. Cold still matters with elevation: the higher you garden, the cooler the nights, and a few tropical crops sulk below about 60°F even where they never freeze.

How long is the growing season in Lomita?

Year-round — the 1991–2020 station record for Lomita contains no 28°F killing freeze, so there is no season to measure between freezes. What paces planting instead is heat, rainfall and daylength: the hottest, wettest stretch is the hard part for cool-season crops, not winter. Elevation is the one real exception — the higher you garden, the colder the nights get.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Lomita?

The federal record around Lomita runs heavier than most — 10,638 documented sites, mostly Brownfields entries (9,399), the nearest PFAS record under a tenth of a mile out — so test the soil before planting food in the ground, and raised beds with clean imported soil grow well in the meantime. Even here, proximity to a documented site is information, not a diagnosis of any one yard; the contamination map shows exactly what's recorded and where.

Everything above is measured at Lomita's scale — its 10b band and its no killing freeze on record. Your yard writes its own version of Lomita's numbers: we read soil, sun, drainage and frost at your exact address. Try it for 14 days — no card required.

What this page reads at Lomita’s own scale

6 of the readings below were taken at Lomita's own scale — the 1,224 acres it covers and 10,638 documented sites around it; 4 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Lomita's own USDA hardiness band, zones 10bUSDA PHZM 2023
  • No 28°F killing freeze in the 30-year station record covering Lomita — a year-round growing seasonNOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020
  • 10,638 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Lomita, the closest PFAS record under a tenth of a mile out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Lomita's boundary and the 1,224 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear Lomita's hardiness zoneGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • The ecoregion at Lomita's own centroid, the Southern California/Northern Baja CoastUS EPA Level III Ecoregions

Inherited from a wider read

  • Soil character — no town-scale survey exists, so Lomita's 1,224 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Los Angeles County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Los Angeles County
  • The growing challenges every California grower plans around — written at state scale, so they stay on the state guidefrom California
  • Butterfly and beetle records, and the farmland pesticide estimate — all published county-widefrom Los Angeles County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Lomita's 1,224 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Lomita you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 1,224 acresreading your own microclimate
  • How close that record sits to YOUR lot — the closest PFAS record under a tenth of a mile out, measured from the town centrehow we read the record
  • Where cold air settles, which slopes face the sun, and which way the wind runs on your own ground — measured at your address, and averaged away by any Lomita-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address