Comments on: What is a cold climate?

By: Kathy Purdy

Kathy Purdy — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 18:07:45 +0000

That is standard practice in my area, too. Have to go to a lot of expense to install a septic system that satifies regulations around here.

By: JJacobsen

JJacobsen — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 16:36:53 +0000

I live in N. Minnesota, and except for Alaska, this is about as cold as it gets. Where I live, what’s even more of a killer than the cold is the soil — hard, clay soil. The soil has so much clay in my yard, I even had to install a mound system rather than a regular septic tank.

By: Christine Steendahl

Christine Steendahl — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 16:13:26 +0000

Beautiful photo. Hard to believe things will be looking like that in the not too distant future.

By: Nori Lane Bishop

Nori Lane Bishop — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 02:52:20 +0000

One of the first plants that will be recommended to grow in the conditions you describe will be goutweed, or Bishop’s weed, the Aegopodium podograria, native to the Himalayas. However, I’ve spent so much time battling this plant that I can’t recommend it to anyone, no matter what.
The good news is that there are other plants, even some natives, that will perform in this location. Some shrubs that would do the trick: Symphorocarpus (Snowberry and Coralberry); native species of Phododendron rosea; Viburnum opulus, Viburnum prunifolium; Vaccinium (blueberries); Cornus canadensis (bunchberry); Yews; and American Arborvitae. Some perennials that will grow in shade on the north side of the fence: Aconitum (monkshood); Aquilegias (columbines); Aruncus sylvester (goatsbeard); Asperula odorata (sweet woodruff); some asters species; Baptisia australis(false indigo); Cimicifuga (snakeroot); Campanula rotundifolia (creeping bellflower); Convallaria (Lily-of-the-valley); Dicentra eximia (fringed bleeding-heart); Dicentra spectabile (common bleeding-heart); Dictamnus (gas plant); Eupatorium maculatum (Joe-Pye-weed); Filipendula ulmaria (Queen-of-the-meadow); Iberis sempervirens (candytuft); Lobelia cardinalis (Cardinal flower); Mertensia virginica (Virginia bluebells); Myosotis (forget-me-nots); Platycoden (balloonflower); Pulmonaria (lungwort); and Violets.
This list was compiled from Wyman’s Gardening Encyclopedia, pub. 1971.
Good luck and have fun.

By: Nori Lane Bishop

Nori Lane Bishop — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 02:50:28 +0000

By: Really northern gardener looking for a shade plant

Really northern gardener looking for a shade plant — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 12:00:19 +0000

[...] recently commented elsewhere: I live in zone 2 and am looking for a shade plant that is non-poisonous to pets for the north side [...]

By: Wyn

Wyn — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 23:16:26 +0000

I live in zone 2 and am looking for a non-poisonous shade plant for the north side of my fence. When I entered that info in google it sent me to this site. Lovely pictures and great info, unfortunately not really my zone. LOL.

By: In the Garden at Today’s Homemaker

In the Garden at Today’s Homemaker — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 16:03:25 +0000

[...] when you’re quite certain that it will not be warm enough to plant anytime soon… What Is a Cold Climate? from Cold Climate Gardening. Don’t be disheartened if you live in a northern area and [...]

By: Karin

Karin — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 13:44:46 +0000

There are huge differences between cold climates, too. I live in Stockholm, Sweden – I tend to think of this as a cold climate, but the winter temperatures here rarely go below -15 C, placing us in the equivalent of US zone 5 or even 6. We don’t have nearly as hot summers as some much colder US climates do, though. There’s much less of a temperature span over the year; from around -15C at the lowest, up to about 30C at the highest, which means that while plenty of plants are winter hardy here, many of them won’t grow very well anyway, because the summers are too cool.

By: Kathy Purdy

Kathy Purdy — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 16:03:58 +0000

I confess I did hesitate a bit when naming my website, but I needed a title that would encompass many topics. I'd be the first to agree there are places colder than here. Of course, I could also point to places north of here that are warmer. There are a lot of factors that affect climate. And I hear you about the heat! Heat up here always comes with lots of humidity, which makes it worse.