What Grows in Venice, Florida

USDA Zones 10a · 10K acres

Venice, Florida, sits in USDA hardiness zone 10a — a range where zone-matched perennials and frost-aware annual timing set what succeeds.

Crops well matched to these conditions include artichoke, meyer lemon, california poppy, and cabbage — though what thrives on any one site still turns on its specific soil, sun, and drainage.

Score your parcel · free

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

No card required · your full report in seconds

Venice — the short answer

Venice, Florida: USDA zone 10a, no 28°F killing freeze on record — the season is year-round, across 10K acres of city.

USDA zone
10a
USDA PHZM 2023
Killing freeze
None on record
NOAA RCC ACIS 1991–2020, this town’s own record
City area
10K 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

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

Zone 10a is Venice's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Venice'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 Venice

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

Winter hardiness

Measured

Venice 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 Venice is in

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

What that means for soil

What Grows in Venice

Every plant below cleared Venice's own zone 10a. Each card opens that plant's Florida profile. How we score.

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

What's on the federal record near Venice

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

  1. 39S19E04 TW1332 FLNitrate · 1900 ft
  2. CAPRI ISLES GOLF INCUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.5 mi
  3. WAWA FOOD MARKET# 5225Underground Storage Tanks · 0.6 mi
  4. BAY INDIESUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.8 mi
  5. WATERFORD GOLF CLUBUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.9 mi
  6. 39S19E09 706224442 FLNitrate · 0.9 mi
  7. 39S19E03 706224142 FLNitrate · 1.0 mi
  8. 39S19E09 706225442 FLNitrate · 1.0 mi
  9. 39S19E08 TW1232 FLNitrate · 1.0 mi
  10. 39S19E19 706224333133 FLNitrate · 1.1 mi
  11. 39S19E09 70622501 FLNitrate · 1.1 mi
  12. 39S19E09 706225444133 FLNitrate · 1.1 mi

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

Measured from Venice'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 Venice.

Total Sites

486

within ~10 miles of Venice

Risk Level

Elevated

Highest-severity

1 Superfund site (none NPL-listed)

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Venice

High2Moderate195Low289

Highest-Severity Sites

North Port Utilities
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
Sarasota CO Special Util Dist
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
37s18e28 Bridge Well424 Fl
Nitrate Monitoring · Well
37s18e28 Bridge Well424 Fl
Nitrate Monitoring · Well
37s18e28 Orange Grov44- Fl
Nitrate Monitoring · Well

A note from Gnorman

What an experienced grower watches for around here

In and around Venice, two things run higher than the national average within ~10 miles of Venice — Nitrate (148 sites) and PFAS (4 sites). Knowing it is half the work — and it's nothing a thoughtful grower can't plan for.

Nitrate: Nitrate contamination primarily comes from agricultural fertilizer runoff and failing septic systems.

PFAS: PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are called "forever chemicals" because they do not biodegrade.

Test well water for nitrate if you rely on a private well for irrigation (EPA standard: 10 mg/L).

Test irrigation water source — this is the primary pathway for PFAS to reach garden crops.

Free Report

Check your specific parcel in Venice

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 Venice average

Your land is one point inside Venice

Everything above resolves to Venice as a whole — one PHZM band and one 28°F frost record, read across 10K 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 Venice Average

Venice Average

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

YOUR Parcel

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

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Venice

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

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

Your soil pHYour frost-free daysYour sun & shade

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

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

How we know this about Venice

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 Venice

Is it too late to plant in Venice?

No — Venice 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 Venice?

It doesn't — Venice 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 Venice?

Year-round — the 1991–2020 station record for Venice 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 Venice?

The federal record around Venice is a meaningful one — 486 documented sites, mostly Underground Storage Tanks entries (183), the nearest Nitrate record about 0.4 miles out — so a soil test before new food beds is a sensible precaution here, not a reason to hold back from growing. Remember that proximity to a documented site is information, not a diagnosis of any one yard; the contamination map shows exactly what sits where.

Everything above is measured at Venice's scale — its 10a band and its no killing freeze on record. Your yard writes its own version of Venice'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 Venice’s own scale

6 of the readings below were taken at Venice's own scale — the 10,407 acres it covers and 486 documented sites around it; 4 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Venice's own USDA hardiness band, zones 10aUSDA PHZM 2023
  • No 28°F killing freeze in the 30-year station record covering Venice — a year-round growing seasonNOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020
  • 486 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Venice, the closest Nitrate record about 0.4 miles out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Venice's boundary and the 10,407 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear Venice's hardiness zoneGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • The ecoregion at Venice's own centroid, the Southern Coastal PlainUS EPA Level III Ecoregions

Inherited from a wider read

  • Soil character — no town-scale survey exists, so Venice's 10,407 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Sarasota County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Sarasota 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 Sarasota County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Venice's 10,407 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Venice you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 10,407 acresreading your own microclimate
  • How close that record sits to YOUR lot — the closest Nitrate record about 0.4 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 Venice-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address