Plant Hardiness Zones Got Updated, Here's What To Do...
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- Опубликовано: 7 июн 2024
- The new Plant Hardiness Zone map came out for 2023...and things are a bit different. Kevin digs into why this isn't as big a deal as you think, and how zones are not the end-all-be-all of your gardening journey.
IN THIS VIDEO
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TIMESTAMPS
00:00 - Intro
00:21 - What Growing Zones Tell You
01:12 - What They Don't Tell You
01:39 - How Growing Zones Are Determined
02:30 - Microclimates
03:23 - Building A Microclimate
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I've always thought of plant hardiness zones like the pirates' code - them's more like guidelines than actual rules. xD
Arrrre, aye!
Yes!! 🙌 Same for me! 😂
😂
Nice one 😂
😂
As a fellow SoCal gardener, I'm finding that our UV Index is more important than our USDA zone. Our August sun is too intense for a lot of plants supposedly suitable for our zone.
I'm 6b in Missouri, we hit 110° + every summer with weeks of no rain, perfect conditions to kill everything. 😵💫
@@StittApril😂WI in my area hit 109* during that heat dome and severe drought. They just reported we are 7+” down on precipitation so far this year. Yes, shade fabric and irrigation were very important this year. Too hot for me.🥵
Same in Texas I prefer to go to Texas A and M for our micro climate
Or Ellis county agriculture
I live in 8b and I had to remove my Dragon's Breath plants out of the front garden because the sun became too intense! They were being cooked! I potted them and relocated them to the cooler backyard, which has some shady parts. They did very well after some love. I'm overwintering and propagating pieces of them in my bedroom now. It has been getting a bit cold for them at night lately. I believe the UV does indeed have a big impact!
I would LOVE a zone system for heat. I'm in Houston where it's crazy hot in the Summer. I kept planting things for "Zone 9" and they'd die in the heat. I realized that Seattle is also Zone 9, and the weather is vastly different. Now I look for things that do well in AZ, TX, and FL. And then I find out if they grow within a couple hours of me. I'm having significantly better luck with that.
We should honestly come up with that...
@@epicgardening Yeah, you're right!
I agree but for the opposite reason. I'm in zone 12. There aren't many plants that are marked for my zone because supposedly it's too hot, but it rarely ever gets over 98°F where I live. It just never goes below the 60s either.
So, we just grow most things in the winter, because our summer night temps in the 80s stress plants(and everyone) out a lot.
Totally understand where you're coming from in San Diego, but as a zone 4 (now zone 5), that zone number means a lot more to us because it's all about which perennials can survive our winter and really limits our options for perennials in the garden.
Absolutely agree - IF you weren't already a Zone 5 ;)
@@epicgardening Ehhh, I have neighbors just blocks away that are still 4 so I'm taking it with a grain of salt😂
😂 really the change didn’t matter for hot zones as they just got hotter and they would actually be looking forward to chill hours so they can grow plants that need cold. We didn’t change in Z5a, but hope we never get -50* ever again.
Yes, I agree! Knowing your zone (or at least how cold it generally gets in your region) is incredibly helpful for those who live places where the temps go well below zero for half the year. There is only one variety of blackberry that can survive outdoors where I live-because the air temps get down into the -30F during the winter. And a blackberry that dies every winter is a waste of money and time. I know because I didn’t understand zones for perennials when I started gardening and lost a lot of plants. And perennials planted in raised beds often need to be rated one zone colder than where you live due to early freezing in raised beds. There is not as much heat trapped when the bed isn’t at ground level in the winter so the beds freeze quicker, just as they thaw quicker. Sure, not all reliance on gardening should be focused on zone, but it is definitely more helpful for people who live in colder climates. I’m sure any warmer climate gardeners who move to a colder climate would see the initial value in that basic zone designation for getting started.
Exactly.
The problem with zones is where fall now runs into December when it used to be frozen by Halloween, I used to plant mid-March and now it's more like mid-April. It's a complete shift.
Ah u must be from Iowa
@dudemax: My wife's a landscape designer and she has been saying the same thing for a few years. It's shifting. She also says clients have trouble wrapping their heads around the new reality.
@@murfy6189 Because?
@@dudeusmaximus6793 of what u said
@@murfy6189 Nice catch, I do live there.
The USDA does map high temps and average annual rainfall etc. (also soils). It is just too much for the average person to process. You aren't going to look a 3-5 different maps to see if you can plant a plant in your backyard. Heat islands and local microclimates are also important as you state.
Still Zone 8 in my area, & i don't live by my zone anyways, growing things that don't typically grow in my area. I love to grow what we don't have down here, allowing others to know that they too can grow something that's not typical in their area.😊
Highly recommend David the Good’s book Pushing the Zone! Covers microclimates very well!
My zone got updated from 8b to 9a . A decent number of years we don’t get below 20 but every few years we get into the teens . Just last Christmas we had an arctic blast and got down to 16 . That’s 8b all day long . I’m not changing anything I plant .
Also, zones aren't a big deal when planting native plants. Hardiness zones are definitely a useful guideline, but we can plant just about anything we want. How well it does relies heavily on care, especially in inclimate weather. So many factors, super exciting to learn more!
For me that doesn't mean anything honestly. With every winter being milder and every spring being wetter and suddenly getting warm half way through, i have been adapting myself already anyway
I remember when i started with my first tomatoes, almost 5 years ago, i sowed them around march and transplanted them late may into the garden.
Now it's sowing in late January, transplanting them in early to mid april. Frost is almost never present by then anymore. I'm actually ready to sow a few new perennial slow growers *now*
And I've been experimenting with growing stuff during winter as well. Occasional light freezes and lots of rain does mean it still is complicated but alliums do well with that :)
The hardiness zone should include the high temperature as well for sure. My zone is 9a but it gets over 120 degrees where i live most 9a plants cant survive direct sun in that.
This is an excellent point! I live in southern Finland in a hardiness zone 6a. That may seem great, but actually doesn't tell you the biggest issues we do have here: very short growing seasons (around 90 frost-free days) and lack of sufficient daylight from late Oct to early March. We might not have our winters as cold as in Alaska but our growing conditions sure seem quite similar. So, no winter growing here unless you have a heated greenhouse with growing lights.
Thanks for the info Kevin!
Who's Kevin?
The man in the video! 😂
Lol omg
@@Celsian I see what you did there 🤣🤣
@@LittleKikuyu oh, I thought his name was Eric.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I'm really happy to see this. I live in Australia and we don't have that first frost/last frost data for the whole country like you guys do, so I've been keeping track of my own local temperatures to give myself a better idea of that. But it's good to know that it doesn't really matter when you're gardening based on your own space & microclimates.
I've only started gardening this year so I dont have this info but great start! I've been looking at Indigenous seasonal calendars to help get a better understanding of the "four seasons in one day" pockets of weather Melbourne can have :)
We kind of do. Search the bureau site for climate data - will have results for each month, one year at a time, for perhaps 100 years of minimum temps for your local weather station. Super helpful. But your own records for your own yard will always beat that. (Edit-appears the B.O.M. have trimmed off the older records recently. Sus.)
@@kaz1388 yes, I can only go back a year for the weather station closest to me.
Crazy!! Love these videos to help me learn but the map you popped up had my town on it. 😆😆 Omaha, one to change. Nebraska is one of those states you can have every season in one week in one month. Thank you for doing this video for everyone.
Good points. One thing I’ve noticed over the years is that while the cold temps do contribute to plants dying the winter rainfall is a key factor. I have been able to overwinter plants not rated for my zone by adding sand and grit and planting in a dryer spot
You are EXACTLY right about the zones. I checked the map and based on my zip code I am about a mile away from my old zone of 9A and now considered to be in 9B the same zone as Orlando which is 2 hours away. So I think I will still consider myself 9A because it does get colder in my region. Thanks for the info!!
Yep...here in our small backyard garden in Bakersfield, CA, we have about 3 different microclimates that I have identified....and one of those has changed with the maturation of the nearby pear trees (providing more shade than they did before)
Great explanation of zones (old and new) and microclimates. Like you, we are going Ice Cream bananas and Puerto Rican plantains. They are fruiting now. First time in 2 years.
Amazing!
David Francko taught us zone pushers this for a long time in his great book, 'Palms don't grow here and other myths.' I landed on musa basjoo banana in my garden and it dies back in the first frost and comes back in March! (Ann Arbor, Michigan).
It is amazing how you can get so much out in one breath. Thanks for all the info Kevin.
Lots of practice
Thank you for the deep dive into planting zones. I discovered the micro climates in my garden by observing how plants behave in different parts of the garden by noting their stress and growing levels. As the garden grew and evolved, micro climates changed. Some plants adapted some didn't. Because I live in a subtropical climate, there was no change but I do pay attention to zones just above and below my zone to choose plants to tryout and experiment with.
I am zone 4 and am growing Avacado and Mango trees!!! Where there is a will there is a way and you can definitely learn how to support species in your zones. Love this video and am happy to see these topics discussed for others to get inspired from.
I would love to try banana here next and would love to know what species will produce the best edibles.
How?!! A heated greenhouse?
@@Noelwilkethey're not being honest about taking the trees indoors during the winter or they are misinformed. Zone 4 would murder any mango tree that is outdoors after a single week of winter weather.
Love this! Despite living in 9b, I have HUGE humidity issues due to proximity to the river. Less than a quarter mile away they don't have as much issue with this at all. I often prefer to look for specific things like heat tolerance (tomatoes that can set in long stretches of high heat), drought tolerance, humidity tolerance/disease resistance, etc. Takes a lot more research than just using a zone number, but better results!
Mine was 6b now 7a but where I live the weather is so wacky. We went for 85 to a massive drop of 40 degrees farenheit for 3 weeks in July. Take that how you will.
In my zone, a wall or fence on the west side of the garden will protect it from hot evening sun, strong winds, etc. It really helped establish a great microclimate.
I calculate my own zone information based on GPS weather data. I'll trust my calculations over an average (50% odds) of a neighboring area.
Whew! Thanks! Nothing’s changed, the map is merely correcting to what each of us are experiencing and it’s merely the avg low during winter.
I learn something every time I watch your videos....and I've been gardening a lot of years. Thanks ❤
I'm in 9b (west central Florida) and everything about my garden (seasons, when I grow what, rain, etc.) is very different from say Stockton, Ca which is also 9b. I've found that the hardiness zones are actually not that helpful. Even our zone's last frost date is wrong for our area by about three weeks.
Right there with you. My zone 8a of Dallas Texas is WAY different than the zone 8a of Salem, Oregon. Could not be more different climate wise
I'm also in 9b, west central Florida. For most things I can cover I just ignore the zone, the real problem is summer heat and humidity. The only things I don't try to grow in the winter are the true tropical vegetables.
Frost dates have absolutely nothing to do with hardiness zone.
Yes, east of 75 in Sarasota, I err on the side of caution and plan on 9b, not 10a.
A great way to discover what will grow in your area is to walk around established neighborhoods and see what was looks lush and happy. You can also ask for cuttings, or root divisions. People are usually cool about it.
Don’t trust that what they sell in big box garden stores is okay for you. They sell anything that isn’t banned in the state.
Also be aware of fruiting season and chill hours. With some winter prep, you can grow a banana in the mountains of Virginia, but is it going to fruit? No. The season is too short to produce fruit. You can grow a peach in Florida, but will it fruit? Not unless you get one developed for super low chill hours and you get a cold winter.
Have fun!
Bazinga! Mid-west here and I've found the Koppen classifications far more helpful. My area is a Continental climate - which basically outlines the extremes. Cold winters (well below zero), hot summers (triple digits) and a lot of wind in all seasons. Precipitation in all forms is variable from year to year. So truthfully, every year is just watching the forecast and winging it.
Great explanation Kevin! I never thought about the zones only being determined by low temperature and not high temperature.
We went up a half a zone according to the new map (from 5a to 5b), but every winter we get down to zone 4 temps, so I’m not sure why we’re not a zone 4.
Instead of adhering to zones for advice on what to plant and when to plant it, I just go to my local gardening Facebook group and do what the experienced gardeners there are doing.
Our house faces north. Our front yard is covered with snow today, but the yards across the street that face south have green grass.
Zones matter for buying winter hardy plants and those that need chill hours to produce. Ours didn’t change. We all still have micro zones and frost prone low elevations and yes, those won’t change.
I went from coastal zone 7b to zone 7b, so nothing has changed. Other than the fact that recent years have had abnormally long cool seasons in the spring, which have delayed the start of my growing season. This despite the climate getting hotter all around, with the hottest parts of summer having been absolute scorchers. This is partly compensated for by the Indian summers that last well through October. We've also been getting more rain, like tons of rain, while other places are suffering drought. Everything is out of whack and unpredictable, which has been frustrating.
Wow, you described the exact opposite of our weather in Z5a, WI. Terrible drought, really hot springs, freak frost that kill the advanced plants in spring, heat domes and let’s not forget the wildfire smoke.
Virginia?
i's a goog guide but as you said, my backyard is very sheltered from wind but a decent amount of sun. have been able to sit in my yard in winter with a light jacket, walk down the street, you will freeze some days. Thank you :) really will not change what I grew last year from what I will grow next year.
Well said, Kevin. It's all about microclimates! The map also doesn't take into account the DURATION of cold temperatures. A 15 MINUTE drop below freezing is going to have a much different effect than a 15 DAY drop below freezing. Also, I'm on a hill at 456 feet and have been watching my winter (and summer) temps for 26 years. I'm Zone 9a-b but the map says I'm Zone 8b because it is measuring the valley below me at 200 feet. There is so much more that could be done to enhance the Zone map. But it is a good starting point.
That's a really good point about the duration!
I love all your videos, the homestead, main channel, and Jacque's as well. I have been watching for a few years, and you were my inspiration
to start my own gardening channel.
Great video Kevin! This is something I've been thinking a lot about while planning what fruit trees and bushes to plant this year.
Thank you for confirming this and giving a detailed explanation of hardiness zones and microclimates. Where I live in Western Washington State is considered zone 8b because we are close to the Pacific Ocean. But the Olympic mountains make up most of the of the peninsula so our elevation is substantially higher then sea level.
We are 500 feet above sea level. We get snow every year. I've lived in a lot of places in Western Washington, but I've never seen this much snow. It's also been getting hotter for longer in the summer months. Plants that might survive the colder weather don't do as well in the heat and vice versa. With 2 acres of property in the woods we have quite a few microclimates.
What I do is every year I pick a couple varieties of plants and grow multiple plants of each type in different places. For example last year I grew tomatoes in the garden in the north west of the property. In planters on the south facing yard, and in the greenhouse. The garden was the most productive.
Learn your microclimates and experiment. You know your land the best. 😊
Excellent video. I have at times become too rigid about my zone (historically 3b but with some retail nurseries pushing 4a). I have a friend who reads the tags and if it doesn't say 3 she won't even consider the plant. But my yard (about 55 x 115 feet) has many micro-climates and it's fun to push the envelope.
Great info Kevin. I hope that new gardeners can understand the points youre trying to make. I've been growing since the late seventies in So Cal, so I have a lot of experience over the years. I was a certified arborist and and a landscape consultant. I've never given a lot of time about zones other than as a generalization. I have always told my customers what matters most is to provide the plant/tree with what it would receive in its natural environment. Just as you indicated with your banana plants. Gardeners can also create their own micro climates to help themselves. Grow big.
I had a bunch of leftover zinnia seeds after, spring, summer, fall and didn't want to just throw them away so I planted them at the end of fall (9b north Florida) and they are growing and I really like them. They are pretty much the same as a regular just a lot more scaled down, its like a little miniature garden. They are probably about a third of the size that the packets said they would be and there are even a couple smaller ones that are less than 6 inches with little tiny flowers with different colors. It's a little derpy but I hate the idea of waiting all the way until spring to plant more so they can grow until they freeze. Probably going to find some choice plants/flowers and have some sort of joke winter garden every year. Would recommend to anyone that has extra seeds and just wants to experiment and see what happens
This is so so good information; thank you 🤓 I am currently growing a gifted thanksgiving cactus from my mother in law, on my south-west facing 5th floor balcony in Zone 8b (it may have changed). It was scorching hot all summer as you can imagine with the sun glaring from after about 11:00 to sunset. The plant has adapted (the tips of the leaves got reddish), it is placed near the wall where it will be a little more protected after around 16:00,. Long story short, it is now in bloom and seems to be loving its place. Plants are great at adapting, they are survivors, for sure. The things that we put them through and yet they keep on living. 🌿Obviously not talking about orchids and dainty stuff 😂
I am a Small Gardener From NEW DELHI INDIA ☕🎉👍 I LOVE YOUR VIDEOS 🎊🎊🎊🎊🎊GOOD LUCK FOR YOU MY DEAR FRIEND ❤️
Still appear to be in 9A, right up against 9B, according to the new map.
Microclimates rock. Have a microclimate portion of my porch acts like Zone 8. Managed to grow sweet pea flower, daffodils and lilac - and get them to bloom - over the past few years.
Yes 🎉🎉 thank you. Not the big deal that everyone is going on about. 👍🏼👍🏼
Longtime gardeners are seeing the map update reflect our experience making our plants happy. Climate change is a big part of the changes, and when so many people are trained to go by the chart it's important that the chart reflect reality around us now.
It's wild to me how much my climate zone has shifted -- legitimately, not a resolution error -- over the last 25 years: we've gone from 6A to 7B. That's a swing that changes what cultivars grow well, what pests persist over winter, and whether a cultivar handed down through generations gets enough chill-hours to fruit. And as we try to restore native plants to areas taken over by pavement and manicured grass, the chill hours are also important to propagation.
You're right that zone leaves out a lot of other important details, but it can be critical in temperate areas for selecting plants that will work. I imagine the impact of this is less in San Diego, where the cultivars of fruit trees and bushes are selected for not really needing measurable time at near-freezing. But in temperate zones this is actively shifting around us, and it adds to the issues home gardeners can have.
The 2012 guidelines were from the 30 years before it . That included the 1982 and 89? Winters that set records. The new guidelines just omitted those record lows so thats why zones changed
Im glad it’s updated finally because I’ve been gardening like i’m a 6b for ages even though I used to be technically in a 5b/6a zone. I think the new one reflects our conditions way better.
I'm North of you in Long Beach - Belmont Shore, near Seal Beach and right where the coast curves so the ocean is South of me (I'm a couple of blocks North of it). I've learned from experience that going completely by zone doesn't work nearly as well as trail and error. The front of my house gets full sun in the afternoon and that makes a big difference.
It was always weird to me how you are in zone 10 and I'm in zone 9 but it's cold where you are way before it's cold here and warm here way before it's warm there. I feel like the heat zone map makes more sense to me than the hardiness zone map (probably because I'm in a hot place and not a cold place) but the #1 most useful thing is talking to locals that successfully garden and trial & error.
Sunset magazine used to put out an equivalent map for high temps and accounted for climate (rainfall, eco zones, etc) that covers the western USA. Very useful.
such valuable information!!
I agree. I have the temperature records for my immediate area going back to 1959 and the average lows have not changed significantly over that time. According to the average low temps on the chart I am solid at the 5a-5b border yet the new map puts me solidly into 6b.
I want to emphasize that everything Kevin shared results in more freedom. All of these dimensions can feel overwhelming, but exploring them enables you to grow things you might otherwise be unable to grow.
Excellent video, Kevin!
So True!
Hi, i'm still growing zucchini right nex to my broccoli. I live in Sicily Italy, and the climate here is kinda everything at once. My zone equivalent should be a Zone 10.
Thankful here that the temps are oh so gradually warming. We are still coming out of the little ice age...when the Thames used to freeze solid every winter and people could ice skate down the middle...we might one day see Greenland green again, or wine grapes grown along Hadrian's wall...but that's a long time away. Something to look forward to!
thanks for the information, eric
The zone map tells me I'm somewhere in 8a - 8b, and that is absolutely incorrect due to my elevation - first and last frost are completely different. Not even the closest weather station can accurately predict the weather in our specific microclimate! We have extremely wet winters that get down in the teens, the summers are scorching hot and dry, and temps in our greenhouses get up to 110. It's been a steep learning curve, but observing and learning my microclimate is resulting in better harvests every year!
Fantastic video thanks for sharing!!🪴🧄
I guess it’s different in subtropical or Mediterranean-like climates, but zones matter a lot more when you live in temperate states, where you need to grow things that can handle as close to frost temps as possible in the early and late growing season, but also be able to handle the increasingly high and unpredictable heatwaves of the mid season.
There are some trees and gardening plants that used to be the norm here that suffer now in the height of our recent hotter and more humid summers, and our ability to grow plants that require certain length freezing periods is getting challenging.
The zone changes help guide those of us in frost regions. Microclimates can’t help our frosts here unfortunately, but that seems like good advice for already warm climates.
Excellent info!
I lived in a 3b zone most of my life. High elevation, a tree line and being on the side of a mountain really effected growing. Our neighbors across the street would be shovelling 5 feet of snow off their grass and we would be mowing ours and growing sunflowers in March every year. My dad grew the best tomatoes, but growing season was shorter and greenhouse growing and covering plants at night was a regular occurance. Now I live in a 5a area at sea level and I'm amazed by how much more daylight there is and how late in the year you can grow.
Good info Kyle, keep it up.
We live in a micro zone called a mountain shadow. While we get less of the warm rain, conversely, if there is a chance of snow we will get it and usually 2” more than half a mile south of us. There are also micro zones within our yard. Because it is so specialized, of the perennials, I look for those that are easily divided and keep plunking away to fill the gaps. There is no way to get a formal garden look (which I really don’t like) but nature has made a better cottage look all on its own than if I had tried. As the wooded trees line changes so does the look of the garden and yard due to the light. Then there is the difference in soil…
Its so weird to see the new map and how a block away is a different zone! Maybe because of hills/bodies of water like you mentioned. I tend to grow mostly, super cold hardy plants and trees and just one or two things that are maybe on the edge of what I can grow and I might need to baby a little in winter. It is also important to know that some gardening sites haven't properly labeled or researched a new plant's hardiness. Very frustrating for a WI gardener. 😥 Wow! I never thought about espalier trees having to do with anything but aesthetics!?! 😮
Good points. Observe and experiment after learning the basics. Godspeed Kevin!
Very interesting! Thanks!
Epic advice. Thanks.
As you say, microclimates can vary within a short distance. My front yard is definitely Zone 7B but my backyard is 8A. Overall we are listed as Zone 7B which is pretty accurate and didn't change. My zone 7B in New Mexico where I only get 8 inches of precipitation per year is quite different than Zone 7B on the East Coast.
When I moved to TN, I trusted that plants listed hardy for my zone 7 would be safe from our freezing conditions, but that was not the case. So now I plant zone 6 hardy and have been very pleased. Other than that, I don’t pay attention to the zones
This. I think he's right about zones not making a big difference in warmer climates, but I have to pay attention where I live in North Idaho. I'm in 6a, but I have to plant for zone 5 or lower. If I don't, my perennials freeze to death.
Yep@@tobyatencio6698
Excellent video
This was an elegantly explained video
I try to explain this to folks myself, so thank you! I'm in Arkansas, zone 7b(as per the old map) . I "push the zone"(Thank you, David The Good) and grow hardy avacado that keeps coming back, dragonfruit (which I do bring inside since I only have 3 pots) jackfruit trees(again, in pots, so they come inside). I have plenty of plants that sit under a big oak tree on the shady east side of my house, and they survive winter just fine.
Some years we get more rain in the spring or less...and this summer was hot and dry, all the way into early fall.
I wasn't really interested in this video before watching but I'm really glad I did, super well presented and logical thank you Er.. I mean Kevin 🙏🙏
YAAAASSSSSS! Thank you for saying this.
Love it...thank you
The cold zones look remarkably similar.
I don’t think many changed in cold zones, ours didn’t.
Really glad they're giving Kevin more screen time. That Eric guy was really starting to bug me!😂
Please remember that your gowing zone number means nothing at all towards your first and last frost dates nor length of 'growing' season. Much more about what perennials will survive your local depths of average winter
Thank you.
❤❤❤
Agreed. Zones give you the most basic starting point for determining what trees/shrubs/perennials might not die in your garden.....and then everything else after that needs to involve a deep-dive into your place.
The Garden Whisperer!
Great view I liked it. ❤
Every time I see your face now I think of Eric gardener because of that short you made the other day and it always makes me chuckle 😂
LOL
I know the USDA zones aren’t reliable when it comes to gardening.
But can we not ignore the fact that everything got warmer?
11 years have passed and much of the colder zones have shifted warmer.
I’m curious if previous decades had a shift colder (if they even did maps back then)
The line between 5a and 6b used to go down my street.
The line between zone 9a and 9b runs right through my property here in Riverside County.
Sweet moon boots you got there, Kevin. :)
It's all about what the plant needs. If you can give the plant what it needs then it will grow.
1:12 exactly. I used to live in 29 Palms a few hours away from where you are now. I think my zone was even lower than SD’s but good googely moogely it was hot 🥵
As an Arizonan, I pretty much ignore zones. I’ve been experimenting with different plants throughout the year relying on weather, temps and shade to grow all year. I am in a part of AZ where the ground doesn’t freeze much in the winter.
Basiclly USDA zone tells you if your plants are likely to freeze to die during winter. But it doesn’t tell you if your plants are going be cooked by summer heat.
Also, it’s not always reliable when encountering extreme weather. For example, the hard freeze in 2021 killed lots of palm trees in Texas. Many of those palm trees are several decades old.
I think they should also show chill hours. Not only is very important most crop production, but some plants die if a cold period isnt long enough. I lost one of my fruit trees this year that way.
the area around my valley is generally a 6a here in northeast PA but scranton is now even up to a 7b in spots due to its microclimate
Yeah I've never really been able to use hardiness zones for gardening in my area. I'm supposedly the same zone as Kevin (10b) here in San Francisco. But no way is San Francisco gardening anything like San Diego. Now I understand. It's because the hardiness zone doesn't pay attention to the heat part of the zone. Sure just like San Diego we rarely if ever freeze but unlike San Diego we rarely get above 80º so our warm weather plants don't necessarily grow the same. My friend espaliers her full sized tomatoes against a sunny wall in her back yard. It's the only way to get enough of the larger tomatoes to ripen. When a tomato says it takes 90 days to ripen that is a real challenge to grow and ripen here. I always add approximately 30 days more to ripen just about any summer fruit or vegetable. I just keep trying to manage my shoulder seasons and keep successive planting to figure out how far I can extend my seasons.