Winter Is Planting Season in South Florida: What to Plant Now

Gardeners who move to Palm Beach County from the north spend their first year working on the wrong calendar. They wait for spring to plant, and they miss the best season we have.

In South Florida, the prime planting and installation window runs October through February.

Why Winter Is Our Planting Season

It comes down to stress. A new plant is spending its energy pushing roots into surrounding soil, and anything that makes that harder reduces its chances.

• Cooler temperatures mean less water lost through the leaves, so the limited root system can keep up
• Lower humidity and less rain reduce fungal disease pressure on new plantings
• Hurricane season winds down, so new plantings are not immediately tested by tropical storms
• Milder conditions let plants put energy into roots rather than surviving heat
• Working conditions are better, which matters for larger installations

By the time our brutal summer arrives, a plant installed in November has had months to establish and is far better equipped to handle it.

Cool Season Annuals

This is the window for the flowers that cannot take our summer at all. Plant them in fall for color through the cooler months.

• Petunias, which give abundant color through winter and fade as the heat arrives
• Impatiens, excellent for shaded beds, though be aware that iguanas favor them
• Marigolds, easy and dependable in full sun
• Pentas, which handle both cool and warm seasons and perform for a long stretch

Treat most of these as a seasonal display rather than a permanent planting. They will decline as temperatures rise, which is normal rather than a failure. For plantings that carry color year round, see our guide to year round flowering plants for South Florida.

Vegetables and Herbs

This surprises new arrivals most. Winter is our vegetable season, not summer. Northern summer crops grow here in the cool months and fail in the heat and humidity of ours.

• Tomatoes, which fruit well in our mild winters and struggle badly in summer
• Peppers, both sweet and hot, which do well through the cool season
• Lettuce and salad greens, which bolt quickly once it warms up
• Herbs including basil, cilantro, parsley, dill, and rosemary

A raised bed with good drainage and full sun handles most of these. Our sandy soil benefits considerably from added organic matter in vegetable beds.

Why Shrubs and Trees Establish Best Now

For permanent planting, this is the important part.

A shrub or tree planted in November has October through May, roughly seven months of mild conditions, to grow roots out into the surrounding soil before summer tests it. The same plant installed in June faces immediate heat, intense sun, and heavy rain with a root system that is not ready.

The difference shows in survival rates and in how quickly plants look established. Hedges in particular benefit, since they need to knit together, and our guide to privacy hedges for South Florida covers spacing and species selection.

Plan Now, Install in October

Good landscape work does not start with plants going in the ground. Design, HOA architectural review, permits where tree work is involved, and sourcing specific plant material all take time.

Starting the design process in late summer means the plan is approved and the material is lined up when the planting window opens in October, rather than spending the best weeks of the season waiting on submissions. Properties that begin planning in August and September are the ones planting in October.

It is also the right moment to think about what the summer revealed. Areas that struggled with heat, beds that needed constant water, and spots where plants failed are all information worth feeding into the design. Our landscape design team works from that kind of assessment, and our landscape installation crews are busiest through the cool season for exactly this reason.

Adjust Irrigation for the Dry Season

As the rains stop, the irrigation controller has to change with them, and this catches people out in both directions.

Established landscapes generally need about one to two waterings a week during the dry season, applying roughly half an inch to three quarters of an inch each time, within your assigned watering days. Our guide to watering a South Florida lawn covers the detail.

New plantings are the exception. They need more frequent water than the established landscape around them while they establish, often supplemental hand watering, tapering as roots develop. Putting a new bed on the same schedule as a mature lawn is a common way to lose plants during their first dry season.

Talk to Ocean's Edge About Your Property

Every property in Palm Beach County is a little different, and the right plan depends on your soil, your exposure, and how you actually use the yard. Call us at (561) 779-5765 or request a free on-site evaluation. We will walk the property with you, talk through the options, and put together a plan at no cost.