Gardening in Sebastian, Florida: What to Plant and the Rules That Apply

Sebastian gardens see occasional hard freezes: on Feb. 1, 2026, nearby Vero Beach set a record low of 26 degrees F (NWS Melbourne).

That 26 degree reading beat the old Vero Beach record of 29 degrees for Feb. 1, set in 1966, and the same National Weather Service summary ranks February 2026 as the 14th coldest February on record at Vero Beach. A freeze of that depth is the single biggest variable for a Sebastian yard, which is why every palm and fruit guide in this section opens with the species cold rating. The Sebastian palm guides cover nine species one by one (areca, Christmas, coconut, foxtail, pygmy date, queen, royal, sabal and Sylvester), and the fruit guides cover thirteen crops from cold hardy avocados and bananas to papaya, lychee and pomegranate.

The official cold season numbers for the Sebastian area are out of date. The NWS Melbourne table of the colder season at Vero Beach gives a median of 221 days a year with no reading below 50 degrees F, with the cool season ending around April 5 and returning around November 13, but the page states it is updated through 2017 (NWS Melbourne colder season table). The February 2026 record is not in it, so the table understates how cold a recent Indian River County winter can get.

Sebastian sits between State Roads 40 and 70, so it follows the central Florida columns of the UF/IFAS Florida Vegetable Gardening Guide (UF/IFAS EDIS VH021).

The guide defines central Florida as the section between State Road 40 and State Road 70, and Sebastian, north of Fort Pierce on the Indian River Lagoon, falls inside it. Warm season crops such as tomatoes and peppers are damaged or killed by frost, so the central dates split the year into a late winter window and a late summer window. The Sebastian vegetable planting calendar guide works through every crop month by month, and the sandy soil amendments guide covers the compost and pH work that comes before planting in Indian River County sand.

Inside Sebastian city limits, fertilizer may not be applied from June 1 through September 30, the prohibited application period in the city fertilizer ordinance (City of Sebastian).

The Sebastian ordinance also bars fertilizer while a flood, tropical storm or hurricane watch or warning covers any part of the city, and nitrogen fertilizer applied to turf or landscape plants within the City of Sebastian must contain at least 50 percent slow release nitrogen. The rule exists because the city council found that fertilizer use creates a contributing risk to surface and ground water in Sebastian.

Indian River County runs a parallel ordinance. The Board of County Commissioners approved Fertilizer and Landscape Management Ordinance No. 2013-012 on Aug. 20, 2013, later amended by No. 2013-014 (Indian River County Stormwater). The county summary bans fertilizer between June 1 and September 30, on saturated soils and when more than two inches of rain in 24 hours is likely, and keeps it at least ten feet from any wetland, water body or seawall top. Those county rules matter for Roseland and Wabasso yards outside the city. The Sebastian lawn guide (St. Augustine versus bahia) and the Florida-Friendly landscaping guide apply these rules to turf and beds.

Sebastian allows landscape irrigation at odd-numbered addresses on Wednesday and Saturday and at even-numbered or unnumbered addresses on Thursday and Sunday, never between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (City of Sebastian Watering Restrictions).

The City of Sebastian adopted this schedule in an amended water restriction ordinance to comply with St. Johns River Water Management District regulations, and the city page notes that exceptions, variances and enforcement provisions sit in the ordinance itself. Watering questions go to the city Stormwater Department Clean Water Program. Last verified: October 14, 2026, on the City of Sebastian website.

Removing a protected tree in Sebastian takes a City of Sebastian Tree Removal Permit, which costs $25 and is followed by a staff inspection of the property (City of Sebastian tree brochure).

The Sebastian tree rules treat a sabal palm with a clear trunk of 6 feet or more as a specimen tree, while other palms are excluded from that class. When trees must be planted to meet the ordinance, palms may make up no more than 35 percent of the required total and need at least 6 feet of clear wood from grade to the first frond. Permits are issued online through the Building Department permitting system or in person at Sebastian City Hall, which the city lists at 1225 Main Street, open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (City of Sebastian).

Palm disease is the other reason Sebastian palm choices matter. UF/IFAS lists Indian River County among the Florida counties with confirmed cases of lethal bronzing, a disease first found in Florida in 2006 and caused by a phytoplasma; it has now been isolated from palms in 36 counties (UF/IFAS EDIS PP163). The Sebastian lethal bronzing guide covers symptoms and removal, the palms for Sebastian yards guide compares species against the city rules, the sago palm and cycad scale guide covers that pest, and the storm-proofing trees guide and flowering shrubs guide round out the woody plant pages.

Free trees are available to Sebastian residents. The City of Sebastian Natural Resources Board (City of Sebastian) points residents to the Pelican Island Audubon Society Trees for Life and Plants for Birds programs, which offer discounted native plants and free live oak trees toward a goal of planting 100,000 native trees to help the Indian River Lagoon. Native trees and shrubs are also listed on Digital Towns Market. Digital Towns Market is our marketplace.

Citrus still grows in Sebastian yards, but citrus greening, spread by the Asian citrus psyllid, kills most infected trees within a few years and has no treatment (USDA APHIS).

APHIS describes greening, also called Huanglongbing, as one of the most serious citrus diseases in the world. Infected trees bear poorly colored, possibly lopsided, bitter fruit, and leaves may show asymmetrical, blotchy mottling. Its prevention advice starts with knowing the quarantine rules and not moving citrus plants out of a quarantined area, which applies to Indian River County growers trading cuttings or nursery trees. The Sebastian citrus greening and backyard citrus guide covers tolerant varieties and certified trees, the tropical fruit trees guide compares citrus with mango, avocado and other crops, and the low chill peaches, figs, loquat, mulberry and olive guides cover temperate fruit that can stand in for citrus in a Sebastian yard.

UF/IFAS Extension Indian River County runs a free plant clinic at the North Indian River County Library, 1001 Sebastian Blvd. (CR 512), every Wednesday from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (UF/IFAS Master Gardener Program).

Master Gardener volunteers answer lawn, insect and fertilizer questions, identify plants, diagnose plant problems and perform soil pH tests in their lab. The Indian River County Master Gardener line is (772) 226-4324, and the Vero Beach clinic runs Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Check the address before driving down from Sebastian. The Extension site lists its office at 7961 58th Avenue, Vero Beach, open Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., yet the footer on the same Indian River County pages still shows 1800 27th Street, Vero Beach (UF/IFAS Extension Indian River County). The main line, (772) 226-4330, settles which office to visit. The UF/IFAS Extension Indian River guide in the Sebastian guides section covers the clinic, soil tests and Master Gardener training in more depth.