Alpine Gardening

Sunset Climate Zone 18 for Alpine Gardening

The Alpine community’s name was suggested by an area resident in the 1880s who believed that the environment was similar to her native home in Switzerland. In fact, the location of Alpine is not precisely defined, since it is an unincorporated area. Alpine is located near the intersection of Alpine Boulevard and Tavern Road. This is approximately where most maps place Alpine. Kumeyaay tribes are indigenous to the area, and the Ewiiaapaayp Band and Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians both are headquartered in Alpine.

Alpine in San Diego County, is classified Climate Zone 18 which is an interior climates. The main influence on climate is the continental air mass; though the ocean determines the climate less than 15 percent of the time. Many of the valley floors were once spotted with farms where apricot, peach, apple, and walnut orchards flourished. But the orchards have now given way to homes.The climate supplies enough winter chill for some plants that need it, but it is not too cold (with a little protection) for many of the hardier subtropicals like amaryllis. It is too hot, too cold, and too dry for fuchsias but cold enough for tree peonies and many apple trees.  Happily, it is mild enough for a number of avocados. Zone 18  never supplied much commercial citrus, but home gardeners who can tolerate occasional minor fruit loss can grow citrus here. Over a 20-year period, winter lows averaged from 22 to 17°F. The all-time lows recorded by different weather stations in Zone 18 ranged from 22 to 7°F.