What’s In A Growing Zone?
Hardiness zones are an attempt to match plants to the geographical areas in which they will survive.
In the last half-century, North America has adopted two systems for determining growing conditions; the USDA growing zones and the Canadian Plant Hardiness Index. While both methods use “Zones,” they differ in how they are determined. Knowing their difference can help you choose the best plants for your garden and provide insight into pushing what’s possible in your garden.
USDA Growing Zones and Extreme Minumum Temperatures
In 1960, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) created a series of plant hardiness growing zones based on the 30-year average annual extreme minimum temperature. [Read more…] about What Determines Plant Hardiness Zones?