La Jolla Gardening

Sunset Climate Zone 24 for La Jolla Gardening

La Jolla is an affluent coastal neighborhood in San Diego, California. It is a hilly seaside community, occupying 7 miles of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean within the northern city limits. The community’s border starts at Pacific Beach to the south and extends along the Pacific Ocean shoreline north to include Torrey Pines State Reserve ending at Del Mar, California. La Jolla encompasses the neighborhoods of Bird Rock, Windansea Beach, the commercial center known as the Village of La Jolla, La Jolla Shores, La Jolla Farms, Muirlands, Torrey Pines, and Mount Soledad to name a few. The climate is mild, with an average daily temperature of 70.5 °F.

La Jolla is home to a variety of businesses in the areas of lodging, dining, shopping, software, finance, real estate, bio-engineering, medical practice and scientific research. The University of California, San Diego (UCSD) is located in La Jolla, as are the Salk Institute, Scripps Institution of Oceanography (part of UCSD), Scripps Research Institute, and the headquarters of National University (though its academic campuses are elsewhere).

La Jolla  is designated Sunset Climate Zone 24, one of the most favored areas in North America for growing subtropical plants, Zone 23 has always been Southern California’s best zone for avocados. Frosts don’t amount to much here, because 85 percent of the time, Pacific Ocean weather dominates; interior air rules only 15 percent of the time. On those 15% days when hot, dry Santa Ana winds blow, Zone 24 lacks either the summer heat or the winter cold necessary to grow pears, most apples, and most peaches. But it enjoys enough heat to put the sweetness in ‘Valencia’ oranges—but not enough for ‘Washington’ naval oranges, which must be grown farther inland. Temperatures are mild here, but severe winters descend at times. Average lows range from 43 to 48°F, while extreme lows average from 34 to 27°F.