Best Trees for San Diego Climate

Today I received an email from someone who just moved to San Diego from St Louis. Sharing an interest in bonsai, he wondered what trees are best for our climate here in San Diego.

I think we are particularly lucky here in San Diego. It seems that most trees do quite well in this climate. Technically, most of San Diego would be considered to be somewhere between Zone 21-24 (see the image below, from Digitalseed). Coastal areas of San Diego will rarely reach temperatures at freezing or below. However, more inland areas of San Diego can reach colder freezing temperatures more often.

As I mentioned, most trees seem to be quite happy in San Diego. Juniper, elm, bougainvillea, black pine, oak, willow, bald cypress, olive, and azalea are all trees that usually do quite well in San Diego. Trees that require a good frost in winter may not fruit or blossom as expected in this area. Also, certain trees that do well at higher altitudes may not be as happy near the coast. Another issue that some of us face is the high content of salt in the air, depending on how near the coast you are.

There is also a related post on this site regarding winter tree care in San Diego. Please feel free to continue the discussion by posting comments to this entry or the entry on winter tree care!