Anyone else have a problem with your "Hardiness Zone"?

[J&Em]

Originally Posted by hotzcatz

Well, that second link is about useless for me and MissingAll4Seasons. The third link doesn't do much good unless you buy their $10 map. But the first link is pretty interesting.

According to that map, I'm in zone 12B. I never even knew there was such a zone. Whoohooo! And, I have peaches and apples growing and producing fruit, how bizarre is that? Maybe we can really confound those folks who make maps and get some bananas and mangos growing for MissingAll4Seasons.

All of the maps are free, no purchases on my part and I can see all of them. Is there a blocker on your browser? The captcha feature is new but you don't have to pay, just fill in the letters and go. I think they are trying to prevent access to bots.


I'm sorry that not every map includes Hawaii, I wasn't trying to leave you out. I wish I had your climate! The maps are an improvement for non continental locations over the earlier ones like this: USNA - USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map: Hawaii and this Hawaii Interactive USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map


At the top of the page on the second link are choices for Hawaii and Alaska, not just the continental USA. It let you zoom down to individual islands and show zones 9(?) on the peaks through 13 at sea level on most of them.

Those zones don't mean much when you are talking about temps in mid growing season where the variations aren't big. They were complied more as a way to know if your plants and trees would survive winter conditions, and probably not as useful in Hawaii as on the continents where there are "real" winters in most areas. There are equivalent zones for Europe as well, again reflecting continent weather.

[MissingAll4Seasons]

The AHS Heat Zone map is the one you have to purchase, the one they show on the site is a tiny representation without much detail and it doesn't expand

Hotcatz - your winter absolute low is my summer average high. Wow! I wouldn't think you'd be able to grow apples (Malus) down there, since they require a winter dormancy period of both low temps and low light. Peaches (Prunus) grow a bit farther south, but still need a winter dormancy period (just shorter). Heck, even most berries (Rubus & Fragaria) like a little bit of winter. I'm sure there are a few varieties adapted to super warm, just like there are for super cold... but we're both a little outside the normal growing range

(Interesting sidenote, one of our town matrons has an enclosed greenhouse over a hotspring and grows lovely bananas and pineapples. She raffles them off since there aren't enough for everyone LOL.)

There are 5 major factor that influence a plants optimal growing range - how cold it gets in winter, how hot it gets in summer, how long the photoperiods are during those seasons, how much rainfall the area gets, and the frost dates. (OK soil type, too - but that is more variable). The Hardiness Zones only tell you how cold it gets in winter, and just because a plant will survive the winter doesn't mean it will also survive the summer. And even if it can survive the temperatures, it doesn't mean it will survive the photoperiod.

Most folks live in the temperate zone between the tropics and the arctic/antarctic, with the majority of ConUS between 30 & 45. Growing restrictions are much more stringent 0-20 & 65-90.

For instance: hotzcatz has at least 12 hours of visible sunlight every day all year round, and the temperature difference between day/night and summer/winter is usually less than 10 degrees (except at altitude). Whereas I have 24 hrs of sun in the summer and only 4 in the winter; and the day/night temps routinely swing 40 degrees or more, and the seasonal difference can exceed 150 degrees. Essentially the sun and temps never change there, and they are never the same here. It's hard to grow plants that need a dormant temp/light period in HI; and it's hard to grow any tender plants or ones that need a period of darkness to to set fruit (like eggplant!) here.

[Ohiogirl81]

Originally Posted by Clark Park

Personally, I am delighted the weather is approaching the subtropical ... but that might be worrisome to environmentalists. I mean any year now we might see coconut palms sprouting up and flamingoes flying by and alligators in the Delaware River!

Can kudzu be far behind?

I'd love a southern magnolia (my neighbor has one, so it's not out of the realm of possibility), but I don't want kudzu climbing up it at a rate of 17 feet a day ...