What Grows in Eatonville, Florida

USDA Zones 10a · 630 acres

Eatonville, Florida, sits in USDA hardiness zone 10a — a zone band wide enough that plant choice, not possibility, is the interesting question.

On paper, okra, meyer lemon, california poppy, and artichoke all suit these conditions — on the ground, soil, sun, and drainage make the final call.

Score your parcel · free

Even in Eatonville, 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 Eatonville 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 Eatonville — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.

No card required · your full report in seconds

Eatonville — the short answer

Eatonville, Florida: USDA zone 10a, about 335 days between hard freezes, across 630 acres of town.

USDA zone
10a
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Jan 20
Orange County normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
First hard freeze (28°F)
Dec 21
Orange County normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
Days between freezes
~335
Orange County normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
Town area
630 acres
US Census TIGER/Line 2025

Every figure names the dataset it came from. No 30-year normal resolves at this town’s own centroid, so the hard-freeze dates are Orange County’s — the closest measured record, labelled as such rather than passed off as local.

Hardiness Zone Range

10a10a
3a (Cold)13b (Hot)

Zone 10a is Eatonville's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Eatonville's 335-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Eatonville

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

Season length

From county records

Eatonville runs about 335 days between hard freezes (read from Orange County, the closest normal to Eatonville) — close to year-round growing.

Frost is rarely the limit here; winter plantings are as real as summer ones, and the harder question is which crops shrug off the summer heat.

Grow cool-season crops through the mild winter, and choose heat-tolerant varieties for the summer beds.

NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals

Winter hardiness

Measured

Eatonville sits in USDA hardiness zone 10a.

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 Eatonville is in

Eatonville sits in the Southern Coastal Plain — EPA Level III, inside the wider Eastern Temperate Forests. That is read at Eatonville's own centroid rather than borrowed from Orange County.

What that means for soil

What Grows in Eatonville

Every plant below cleared Eatonville's own zone 10a and its 335-day season. Each card opens that plant's Florida profile. How we score.

okra, photograph
Growing okra in FloridaZones 2–12Eatonville's 335 days clear the ~50 it needs.
Meyer lemon, photograph
Florida meyer lemon guideZones 9–11Eatonville's 10a — 1 zone of cold margin.
California poppy, photograph
California poppy in FloridaZones 6–10Eatonville's 10a — 4 zones of cold margin.
artichoke, photograph
Artichoke: Florida growing notesZones 7–11Eatonville's 10a — 3 zones of cold margin.
avocado, photograph
Growing avocado in FloridaZones 9–11Eatonville's 10a — 1 zone of cold margin.
basil, photograph
Florida basil guideZones 10–11Eatonville's 335 days clear the ~80 it needs.
cabbage, photograph
Cabbage in FloridaZones 2–11Eatonville's 10a — 8 zones of cold margin.
banana, photograph
Banana: Florida growing notesZones 9–11Eatonville's 10a — 1 zone of cold margin.
rosemary, photograph
Growing rosemary in FloridaZones 8–10Eatonville's 10a — 2 zones of cold margin.
collard greens, photograph
Florida collard greens guideZones 2–11Eatonville's 10a — 8 zones of cold margin.
citrus, photograph
Citrus in FloridaZones 9–11Eatonville's 10a — 1 zone of cold margin.
kale, photograph
Kale: Florida growing notesZones 2–11Eatonville's 10a — 8 zones of cold margin.
lentil, photograph
Growing lentil in FloridaZones 2–11Eatonville's 335 days clear the ~70 it needs.
potato, photograph
Florida potato guideZones 2–11Eatonville's 10a — 8 zones of cold margin.
pumpkin, photograph
Pumpkin in FloridaZones 3–11Eatonville's 335 days clear the ~40 it needs.
iris, photograph
Iris: Florida growing notesZones 3–10Eatonville's 10a — 7 zones of cold margin.
sunflower, photograph
Growing sunflower in FloridaZones 2–11Eatonville's 335 days clear the ~70 it needs.
Apache plume, photograph
Florida apache plume guideZones 5–11Eatonville's 10a — 5 zones of cold margin.
bougainvillea, photograph
Bougainvillea in FloridaZones 9–11Eatonville's 10a — 1 zone of cold margin.
lantana, photograph
Lantana: Florida growing notesZones 10–11Eatonville's 10a is its exact cold limit.
French marigold, photograph
Growing french marigold in FloridaEatonville's 335 days clear the ~50 it needs.
holly, photograph
Florida holly guideZones 5–11Eatonville's 10a — 5 zones of cold margin.
jasmine, photograph
Jasmine in FloridaZones 9–11Eatonville's 10a — 1 zone of cold margin.
mountain laurel, photograph
Mountain laurel: Florida growing notesZones 5–11Eatonville's 10a — 5 zones of cold margin.
moringa, photograph
Growing moringa in FloridaZones 9–12Eatonville's 10a — 1 zone of cold margin.
African foxtail, photograph
Florida african foxtail guideZones 8–13Eatonville's 335 days clear the ~120 it needs.
ajuga, photograph
Ajuga in FloridaZones 5–11Eatonville's 10a — 5 zones of cold margin.
palo verde, photograph
Palo verde: Florida growing notesZones 8–11Eatonville's 10a — 2 zones of cold margin.
Vuda blue grass, photograph
Growing vuda blue grass in FloridaZones 8–13Eatonville's 10a — 2 zones of cold margin.
liriope, photograph
Florida liriope guideZones 5–11Eatonville's 10a — 5 zones of cold margin.

Is it too late to plant in Eatonville?

Rarely: the season closes in stages, not all at once, and each stage has its crops. Cool-season crops can go in from around Jan 1; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near Jan 20 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and from midsummer, planting counts back from the first fall freeze around Dec 21 — long-season crops need about 90 days of runway, quick greens only 30. And with a calendar this mild, the honest answer is that planting barely stops — winter opens seasons colder regions never see.

What's on the federal record near Eatonville

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

  1. CALVARY TOWERSUnderground Storage Tanks · 1100 ft
  2. APPLIED ELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY, INC.Superfund · 1300 ft
  3. ORLANDO MINIBrownfields · 1300 ft
  4. TESLA SERVICE CENTERBrownfields · 1600 ft
  5. FDOT DISTRICT 5Brownfields · 2300 ft
  6. HOME DEPOT STORE #6349Brownfields · 2400 ft
  7. SHELL STATION-ALBERTSUnderground Storage Tanks · 2600 ft
  8. 7-ELEVEN FOOD STORE #25089Underground Storage Tanks · 0.5 mi
  9. APL OF ORLANDOUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.5 mi
  10. FORMER CHEVRON #42163Underground Storage Tanks · 0.5 mi
  11. FIRESTONE-LEE ROADUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.5 mi
  12. FIRESTONE COMPLETE AUTO CAREBrownfields · 0.5 mi

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

Measured from Eatonville'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 Eatonville.

Total Sites

3,112

within ~10 miles of Eatonville

Risk Level

High

Highest-severity

30 Superfund sites

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Eatonville

High8Moderate584Low2,520

Highest-Severity Sites

Altamonte Springs Water Dept (2 Wps)
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
Casselberry, City of (3 Wps)
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
Chevron Chemical CO. (Ortho Division)
Superfund · Superfund NPL
City Industries, INC.
Superfund · Superfund NPL
Ocoee, City of (2 Wps)
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected

Know Before You Grow

  • Underground tanks leak petroleum as they age — near a former filling station, test the soil.
  • Near a brownfield, raised beds of imported soil give your food clean ground.
  • TRI facilities report what they release. Check the wind — downwind beds catch more of it.
Free Report

Check your specific parcel in Eatonville

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 Eatonville average

Your land is one point inside Eatonville

Everything above resolves to Eatonville as a whole — one PHZM band, read across 630 acres, with hard-freeze dates borrowed from Orange County’s record because no 30-year normal resolves at this town’s own centroid. 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 town 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 Eatonville Average

Eatonville Average

  • USDA Zones 10a, averaged across Eatonville
  • One soil character for all of Eatonville
  • Frost dates read at Eatonville's scale: Jan 20 to Dec 21

YOUR Parcel

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

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Eatonville

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

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

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Eatonville averages 335Your sun & shade

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

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

How we know this about Eatonville

The datasets: hardiness from the USDA ARS Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023, read at this town’s own centroid; hard-freeze dates from NOAA 1991–2020 28°F normals at Orange County’s record, because none resolves here; 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 town grain anywhere on this page — there is no town-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 Eatonville

When does frost risk typically end in Eatonville?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Eatonville typically lands around Jan 20, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — earlier than the light-frost dates most charts quote. That marks the hard freeze, not the last light frost — lighter frosts keep biting past it, which is why tender transplants here wait until about Feb 10.

When is the first frost in Eatonville?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Eatonville typically arrives around Dec 21, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — the point tender summer crops finish. Lighter frosts run ahead of it, near Dec 7, so the watching starts about Nov 21 — about 335 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Eatonville?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Eatonville sees about 335 frost-free days — roughly Jan 20 through Dec 21, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer Feb 10 to Dec 7, about 300 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Eatonville?

The federal record around Eatonville runs heavier than most — 3,112 documented sites, mostly Underground Storage Tanks entries (1,814), the nearest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.2 miles 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.

How do I protect my plants from frost in Eatonville?

From about Nov 21 the job here turns from planting to protecting — the last start even a 30-day crop can finish. As the season closes around the first 28°F hard freeze near Dec 21 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals), three moves buy time: row cover or an old sheet over tender plants on still, clear nights; water the soil the afternoon before a freeze, so it holds warmth overnight; and harvest tomatoes, peppers and basil before Dec 21. Hardy greens and roots shrug off light frost and sweeten after it — leave them in.

Everything above is measured at Eatonville's scale — its 10a band and its 335-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Eatonville'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 Eatonville’s own scale

5 of the readings below were taken at Eatonville's own scale — the 630 acres it covers and 3,112 documented sites around it; 5 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Eatonville's own USDA hardiness band, zones 10aUSDA PHZM 2023
  • 3,112 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Eatonville, the closest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.2 miles out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Eatonville's boundary and the 630 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 10a and a ~335-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • The ecoregion at Eatonville's own centroid, the Southern Coastal PlainUS EPA Level III Ecoregions

Inherited from a wider read

  • The 28°F hard-freeze dates — Eatonville has no normal of its own, so its county's is the closest measured readfrom Orange County
  • Soil character — no town-scale survey exists, so Eatonville's 630 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Orange County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Orange County
  • The growing challenges every Florida grower plans around — written at state scale, so they stay on the state guidefrom Florida
  • Butterfly and beetle records, and the farmland pesticide estimate — all published county-widefrom Orange County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Eatonville's 630 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Eatonville you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 630 acresreading your own microclimate
  • How close that record sits to YOUR lot — the closest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.2 miles 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 Eatonville-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address