What planting zone is Santa Monica, CA?

Santa Monica is in USDA plant hardiness zone 11a (average annual extreme minimum temperature 40 to 45°F), from the 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map.

What is the weather like in Santa Monica?

In Santa Monica, CA the warmest month is September (avg high 70°F) and the coldest is December (avg low 49.5°F). It averages about 12.2″ of precipitation a year.

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Santa Monica, CA Planting Calendar & Frost Dates

USDA hardiness zone 11a · ZIP 90404 · elevation 4′ · NOAA & USDA data

Santa Monica sits in USDA zone 11a and is effectively frost-free — you can grow something outdoors year-round. The warmest month is September (avg high 70°F) and the coolest is December (avg low 49.5°F). Time plantings by the hot vs. cool season rather than by frost: grow heat-loving crops through the warm months and cool-season greens in the mild winter. The wettest month is February (3.1″).

Hardiness zone

11a

min temp 40 to 45°F

Frost

Frost-free

grow year-round

Warmest month

September

avg high 70°F

Month-by-month typical weather in Santa Monica

Average conditions from the NOAA/NCEI 1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals at Santa Monica Pier, CA (2 mi away). Temperatures °F, precipitation & snow in inches.

Month	Avg high	Avg low	Mean	Precip (in)
January	62	49.6	55.8	3.1
February	62.2	49.7	56	3.1
March	61.8	51.8	56.8	1.7
April	63.4	53.2	58.3	0.6
May	63.4	55.8	59.6	0.2
June	66.3	59.2	62.7	0.1
July	69.4	61.5	65.4	0
August	69.7	62.3	66	0
September	70	60.9	65.5	0
October	67.5	58.5	63	0.5
November	66.9	53.6	60.3	0.8
December	63.4	49.5	56.5	2

What to plant when in Santa Monica

Santa Monica is frost-free, so there's no last-frost date to time from. Grow cool-season crops (lettuce, peas, broccoli, carrots) in the cooler months and warm-season crops (tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash) through the warm season.

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Gear that helps you plant on time

Some links below are Amazon affiliate links (tag theboringthin-20). If you buy through them we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you — it keeps this almanac free. We only list generic, genuinely-useful categories.

Soil thermometer →Know when the ground is warm enough to sow — the honest signal, not the calendar.Seed-starting trays + dome →Start tomatoes & peppers indoors on the schedule below.Seedling heat mat →Warms the soil for faster, more even germination indoors.Floating row cover / frost cloth →Buys you 4–8°F to beat an early or late frost.Raised garden bed kit →Warms and drains faster in spring than in-ground soil.Garden gloves →Basic kit for transplant day.

Nearby cities in California

Culver City, CA Los Angeles, CA Hawthorne, CA Gardena, CA Burbank, CA Redondo Beach, CA Huntington Park, CA Glendale, CA

Sources & method. Hardiness zone: 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University). Frost dates & growing season: NOAA/NCEI 1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, nearest station with published freeze normals — Woodland Hills Pierce College, CA, 12.2 mi (confidence: medium). Monthly weather normals: Santa Monica Pier, CA, 2 mi (confidence: high). ZIP centroid from U.S. Census 2023 ZCTA data. Frost dates are the 50%-probability date — half of years frost occurs outside the stated date. Nothing here is invented; where the nearest station is far, we say so. Last updated 2026-07-22.