What Grows in Windsor, Florida

USDA Zones 10a · 559 acres

Windsor, Florida, sits in USDA hardiness zone 10a — a band that supports both cool-season staples and warm-season crops chosen to fit the local frost window.

A short list that earns its place here — okra, meyer lemon, california poppy, and artichoke — with any one site's soil, sun, and drainage making the final cut.

Score your parcel · free

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

No card required · your full report in seconds

Windsor — the short answer

Windsor, Florida: USDA zone 10a, about 335 days between hard freezes, across 559 acres of town.

USDA zone
10a
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Jan 19
Indian River County normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
First hard freeze (28°F)
Dec 20
Indian River County normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
Days between freezes
~335
Indian River County normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
Town area
559 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 Indian River 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 Windsor's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Windsor's 335-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Windsor

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

Season length

From county records

Windsor runs about 335 days between hard freezes (read from Indian River County, the closest normal to Windsor) — 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

Windsor 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 Windsor is in

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

What that means for soil

What Grows in Windsor

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

Is it too late to plant in Windsor?

For most of the year, no — what changes is which crops still fit the days remaining. 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 19 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and from midsummer, planting counts back from the first fall freeze around Dec 20 — long-season crops need about 90 days of runway, quick greens only 30. In a climate this gentle, “too late” hardly applies — the question becomes which crops prefer the cooler months ahead.

What's on the federal record near Windsor

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

  1. D'ALBORA CO J VUnderground Storage Tanks · 1.4 mi
  2. WINDSOR POLO & BEACH CLUBUnderground Storage Tanks · 1.4 mi
  3. SEBASTIAN CITRUS ASSOCIATIONUnderground Storage Tanks · 1.6 mi
  4. 3920 - SEBUnderground Storage Tanks · 1.9 mi
  5. DISNEYS VERO BEACH RESORTBrownfields · 2.0 mi
  6. PUBLIX SUPER MARKET #772Brownfields · 2.2 mi
  7. RIVERVIEW FOOD MART #11Underground Storage Tanks · 2.3 mi
  8. INDIAN RIVER CNTY-NORTH BEACH RO PLTUnderground Storage Tanks · 2.3 mi
  9. NORTH COUNTY AQUATIC CENTERBrownfields · 2.3 mi
  10. RELIANCE #521Underground Storage Tanks · 2.5 mi
  11. DUNOCO #2Underground Storage Tanks · 2.5 mi
  12. INDIAN RIVER CNTY-SEA OAKS WWTFUnderground Storage Tanks · 2.7 mi

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

Measured from Windsor'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 Windsor.

Total Sites

232

within ~10 miles of Windsor

Risk Level

Elevated

Highest-severity

1 Superfund site

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Windsor

High2Moderate42Low188

Highest-Severity Sites

3920 - Seb
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
7-Eleven Food Store #19605-31
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
7-Eleven Store #40348
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)

A note from Gnorman

What an experienced grower watches for around here

In and around Windsor, Underground Storage Tanks runs higher than the national average — 149 sites within ~10 miles of Windsor. It's not cause for alarm — it's worth knowing, and there's a sensible way to grow around it.

Underground Storage Tanks: Underground storage tanks are the single most common source of soil contamination near homes and gardens.

Use raised beds with imported soil — this eliminates the primary soil-contact pathway.

Free Report

Check your specific parcel in Windsor

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 Windsor average

Your land is one point inside Windsor

Everything above resolves to Windsor as a whole — one PHZM band, read across 559 acres, with hard-freeze dates borrowed from Indian River 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 Windsor Average

Windsor Average

  • USDA Zones 10a, averaged across Windsor
  • One soil character for all of Windsor
  • Frost dates read at Windsor's scale: Jan 19 to Dec 20

YOUR Parcel

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

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Windsor

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

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

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

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

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

How we know this about Windsor

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 Indian River 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 Windsor

When does frost risk typically end in Windsor?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Windsor typically lands around Jan 19, 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 9.

When is the first frost in Windsor?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Windsor typically arrives around Dec 20, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — the point tender summer crops finish. Lighter frosts run ahead of it, near Dec 6, so the watching starts about Nov 20 — about 335 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Windsor?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Windsor sees about 335 frost-free days — roughly Jan 19 through Dec 20, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer Feb 9 to Dec 6, about 300 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Windsor?

The federal record around Windsor is a meaningful one — 232 documented sites, mostly Underground Storage Tanks entries (149), the nearest Underground Storage Tanks record about 1.4 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.

How do I protect my plants from frost in Windsor?

From about Nov 20 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 20 (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 20. Hardy greens and roots shrug off light frost and sweeten after it — leave them in.

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

5 of the readings below were taken at Windsor's own scale — the 559 acres it covers and 232 documented sites around it; 5 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Windsor's own USDA hardiness band, zones 10aUSDA PHZM 2023
  • 232 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Windsor, the closest Underground Storage Tanks record about 1.4 miles out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Windsor's boundary and the 559 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 Windsor's own centroid, the Southern Coastal PlainUS EPA Level III Ecoregions

Inherited from a wider read

  • The 28°F hard-freeze dates — Windsor has no normal of its own, so its county's is the closest measured readfrom Indian River County
  • Soil character — no town-scale survey exists, so Windsor's 559 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Indian River County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Indian River 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 Indian River County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Windsor's 559 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Windsor you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 559 acresreading your own microclimate
  • How close that record sits to YOUR lot — the closest Underground Storage Tanks record about 1.4 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 Windsor-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address