Deconstruct SunKey West, FL: Hardiness Zone 11b & Sunlight by Season
Key West is in USDA hardiness zone 11b. Here’s what that means for winter, plus sunrise, sunset, daylight hours and the sun’s path through the year.
Zone 11b in Key West
On the 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, Key West falls in zone 11b. That means the coldest night of a typical winter drops to between 45 and 50 °F. Perennials, shrubs and trees labeled for zone 11b or colder (a lower number) should survive the winter here.
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
- Naples, FL Zone 10b
- Miami, FL Zone 11a
- Hialeah, FL Zone 11a
- Miramar, FL Zone 11a
- Pembroke Pines, FL Zone 11a
- Fort Myers, FL Zone 10b
- Hollywood, FL Zone 11a
- Cape Coral, FL Zone 10b
The sun over Key West
On the June solstice the sun rises in the northeast at 6:39 AM and climbs to 89° above the horizon at 1:28 PM. On the December solstice the noon sun reaches only 42°, so a 20-foot tree casts a noon shadow about 22 feet long. In June the same tree’s noon shadow is only 0 feet.
Sunrise, sunset & daylight by month
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Daylight | Noon sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 21 | 7:12 AM | 6:04 PM | 10h 52m | 46° |
| Feb 21 | 6:56 AM | 6:25 PM | 11h 29m | 55° |
| Mar 21 | 7:29 AM | 7:38 PM | 12h 09m | 66° |
| Apr 21 | 6:59 AM | 7:52 PM | 12h 52m | 78° |
| May 21 | 6:40 AM | 8:06 PM | 13h 26m | 86° |
| Jun 21 | 6:39 AM | 8:18 PM | 13h 40m | 89° |
| Jul 21 | 6:50 AM | 8:16 PM | 13h 26m | 86° |
| Aug 21 | 7:04 AM | 7:55 PM | 12h 52m | 77° |
| Sep 21 | 7:15 AM | 7:24 PM | 12h 09m | 66° |
| Oct 21 | 7:27 AM | 6:55 PM | 11h 27m | 55° |
| Nov 21 | 6:47 AM | 5:38 PM | 10h 51m | 45° |
| Dec 21 | 7:06 AM | 5:43 PM | 10h 37m | 42° |
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 Key West
Full sun is 6+ hours of direct sun. In Key West an open spot has 13.7 hours of daylight to work with in June and 10.6 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 Key West 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 Key West, FL in?
Key West, Florida is in USDA plant hardiness zone 11b on the 2023 map. The average coldest winter night is 45 to 50 °F (7.2 to 10.0 °C).
How many hours of daylight does Key West get?
About 13.7 hours on the June solstice (sunrise 6:39 AM, sunset 8:18 PM) and 10.6 hours on the December solstice (sunrise 7:06 AM, sunset 5:43 PM). Around the equinoxes it is close to 12 hours.
How many hours of sun does my Key West 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 Key West?
Zone 11b 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 11b 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 24.565, -81.775.