How To Evaluate Plant Hardiness Zones

Tuesday, May 25th, 2010 at 5:31 am

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Plant hardiness zones are a basic guide for choosing plants that would flourish in your region, and the zones are contingent on seasonal temperature extremes. Certain vegetables, as an illustration, need prolonged, cool spring evenings to become established, which they will not experience in Miami. Others call for several months of warm sunshine to mature adequately, which they won’t receive in Detroit.

If you are aware of your plant hardiness zone before you go shopping for lettuce plants, you could find the kind which produces best in your region. Several years ago, the United States Department of Agriculture combined with Harvard University to create a map of North America showing coldest and hottest seasonal temperatures.

This particular map is normally known as the USDA map and is the normal reference for plant hardiness in certain places. This map slices North America into 11 zones. Zone 1 is the coldest and zone 11 is the warmest. Usually, colder zones exist at higher elevations as well as in places farther to the north.

Hardiness zones simply serve as a basic guideline for selecting and growing plants, by the way.

Keep in mind that Austin, Texas, and Charleston, South Carolina, are regarded as within the same hardiness zone, although they experience significantly different weather patterns. Any time you’re choosing a plant, you should additionally think about the level of sun and water it needs, in addition to the kind of ground for which it is optimally suited.

Any time these zones are talked about regarding plants, you will probably perceive several degrees of detail.

For instance, if a plant is simply described as being hardy to zone 6, you only know that the plant will endure winters in the zone listed and will prosper in any more temperate zones with higher numbers. Sometimes a range of zones is referred to, as in “zones 4-9”. This explains to us that these plants will thrive mainly in these zones; they won’t put up with the less accommodating temperatures in other zones.

While you know your hardiness zone, you’ll still find it beneficial to refer to an area nursery before you begin your garden. You may be in a micro climate which is at variance with the USDA zone which corresponds to your vicinity, or your soil type may be detrimental to a plant which might otherwise do all right in your weather.Do not forget, these zones are excellent starting points, yet they must be treated just as guidelines.