Deconstruct SunBoca Raton, FL: Hardiness Zone 11a & Sunlight by Season
Boca Raton is in USDA hardiness zone 11a. Here’s what that means for winter, plus sunrise, sunset, daylight hours and the sun’s path through the year.
Zone 11a in Boca Raton
On the 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, Boca Raton falls in zone 11a. That means the coldest night of a typical winter drops to between 40 and 45 °F. Perennials, shrubs and trees labeled for zone 11a or colder (a lower number) should survive the winter here. Parts of the area sit near the boundary with zone 10b, so a sheltered courtyard or an exposed hilltop can behave like the neighboring zone.
A zone only covers winter cold. For a plant to do well it also needs the right amount of sun, and that varies far more from one corner of a yard to the next than the zone does across town.
This is not the official USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map. Zones are derived from the official 2023 dataset, resampled to about 2 km.
Nearby cities
- Pompano Beach, FL Zone 11a
- Coral Springs, FL Zone 10b
- Fort Lauderdale, FL Zone 11a
- Hollywood, FL Zone 11a
- West Palm Beach, FL Zone 10b
- Pembroke Pines, FL Zone 11a
- Miramar, FL Zone 11a
- Hialeah, FL Zone 11a
The sun over Boca Raton
On the June solstice the sun rises in the northeast at 6:28 AM and climbs to 87° above the horizon at 1:22 PM. On the December solstice the noon sun reaches only 40°, so a 20-foot tree casts a noon shadow about 24 feet long. In June the same tree’s noon shadow is only 1 feet.
Sunrise, sunset & daylight by month
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Daylight | Noon sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 21 | 7:08 AM | 5:54 PM | 10h 46m | 44° |
| Feb 21 | 6:51 AM | 6:17 PM | 11h 26m | 53° |
| Mar 21 | 7:23 AM | 7:32 PM | 12h 09m | 64° |
| Apr 21 | 6:51 AM | 7:47 PM | 12h 56m | 76° |
| May 21 | 6:30 AM | 8:03 PM | 13h 33m | 84° |
| Jun 21 | 6:28 AM | 8:16 PM | 13h 48m | 87° |
| Jul 21 | 6:40 AM | 8:13 PM | 13h 33m | 84° |
| Aug 21 | 6:55 AM | 7:51 PM | 12h 56m | 76° |
| Sep 21 | 7:08 AM | 7:17 PM | 12h 09m | 64° |
| Oct 21 | 7:22 AM | 6:46 PM | 11h 24m | 53° |
| Nov 21 | 6:43 AM | 5:28 PM | 10h 45m | 44° |
| Dec 21 | 7:04 AM | 5:33 PM | 10h 29m | 40° |
Local time (New York), including daylight saving time. “Noon sun” is the sun’s height above the horizon at solar noon.
Daylight through the year
What “full sun” means in Boca Raton
Full sun is 6+ hours of direct sun. In Boca Raton an open spot has 13.8 hours of daylight to work with in June and 10.5 in December, so a bed that clears 6 hours in summer can easily drop to part shade in winter once the low sun slips behind trees and houses.
Measure the sun in your Boca Raton yard
Daylight is the ceiling. Deconstruct Sun traces the trees and buildings around one exact spot and tells you its real direct-sun hours, today and at every solstice and equinox.
Questions
What hardiness zone is Boca Raton, FL in?
Boca Raton, Florida is in USDA plant hardiness zone 11a on the 2023 map. The average coldest winter night is 40 to 45 °F (4.4 to 7.2 °C). It is near the boundary with zone 10b.
How many hours of daylight does Boca Raton get?
About 13.8 hours on the June solstice (sunrise 6:28 AM, sunset 8:16 PM) and 10.5 hours on the December solstice (sunrise 7:04 AM, sunset 5:33 PM). Around the equinoxes it is close to 12 hours.
How many hours of sun does my Boca Raton yard get?
Up to the daylight hours above, minus whatever trees, buildings and fences block. In winter, when the sun stays low, that can be most of it. The Deconstruct Sun iPhone app measures the real direct-sun hours for one exact spot by having you trace what is around it.
When is the best time to plant in Boca Raton?
Zone 11a tells you which perennials survive winter, not planting dates. For timing, use your local average frost dates from your county extension office, and choose plants rated for zone 11a or colder.
Source: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, 2023. Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, planthardiness.ars.usda.gov. Underlying data © PRISM Group, Oregon State University, prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed 2026-08-30. Sun times calculated for 26.373, -80.104.