Gardening Basics for Beginners by Nina Greene

Author:Nina Greene [Greene, Nina]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Gardening
Publisher: Speedy Publishing LLC
Published: 2014-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 10: HOW TO READ A HARDINESS ZONE MAP

A hardiness zone map (also referred to as a planting zone map) is a good source of information of climate data. All gardeners should look at planting zones when in the beginning planning stages of a garden.

Planting zones are a guide to plants survival rate ability during the coldest winter months in a particular region. If a plant can survive the winter climate, it can successfully move into the next season.

When cold weather arrives, many plants will go dormant. Dormancy is a good thing for plants that are cold hardy. For plants that are not, they will not survive being exposed to the chilly, frost-bitten, lower temperatures. Therefore, gardeners need to be aware of how low temperatures can drop in the region they live in.

Choosing the right fruits, flowers, plants, trees and vegetables in the right planting zones is essential to successful gardening. Double check that your local garden center and/or nursery is stocking plants that are compatible with the gardening zone they are sold in. If purchasing bulbs, seeds and seedling online or through catalogs, they should be tagged to let gardeners know what zones they are best suited for.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) gardening zone map represents the average annual lowest winter temperature experienced in each region or “zone” throughout the United States, Mexico, and Canada. The map divides North America into 11 separate zones with zone 1, Alaska, being the coldest and zone 11, Hawaii, the warmest.

Map zones 2 to 9 are subdivided into two sections. Each section (a&b) represents a 5 degree Fahrenheit difference in each zone with the lighter shade being colder. Alaska and Florida are examples of states that fall into multiple zones. Florida starts at zone 8b and ends at 10b.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture released a new hardiness zone map on January 25, 2012. The map had not been updated since 1990 and the new version accounts for variables that affect plant survival such as terrain, elevation, exposure, and proximity to water.

The new USDA map is available online at http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov and is interactive. The interactive map lets users click on their exact location and get detailed starting dates for planting.

Gardeners need to remember that a hardiness zone map is only a guide. There are a ton of other stressful factors, such as air pollution and below average rainfall for your area, humidity, an odd timed cold snap, the amount of frost or snow on the ground, and soil moisture which can affect the performance and/or survival of a plant.

Click on the above link and enter your Zip Code or your State for your zone information.

If you reside outside out the United States, Google can help you locate your plant hardiness zone map.

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