hardiness_zones

How Do You Know If A Plant Is Hardy?

– Posted in: FAQ, Featured, Plant info
snow on roses

I was just reading Graham Rice's musings on plants that grow in the coldest climates. He observed that the resources he consulted did not agree on which plants were tough enough to take USDA zone 2. If you've been gardening for any length of time (which of course Graham has), this won't surprise you. First, [...]

What is a cold climate?

– Posted in: FAQ

This photo was taken two days before the digital thermometer bottomed out in January 2005Quite a while ago, someone emailed me, asking what was a cold climate. I never did answer them, because I thought it was obvious. A cold climate is any climate too cold to grow the plants you really want to grow. [...]

What does a zone map really tell you?

– Posted in: FAQ, Weather
The 1990 USDA hardiness map for New York State

History repeats itself. According to this article (in pdf format) by Peter Del Tredici* on the history of plant hardiness zone maps, there used to be two hardiness maps floating around, the Arnold Arboretum map and the map put out by the USDA. Donald Wyman first created what would come to be called the Arnold [...]

Weather variations or climate change?

– Posted in: Weather

I had always thought you were in Zone 4, Ro, but when I consult my most detailed copy of the USDA Hardiness Zone map (which I got in an old issue of Fine Gardening) I see you actually are listed as Zone 5. Not that the map is the last word on what zone you [...]