Since I just got done telling you what the new USDA Hardiness Map is not good for, I thought I should at least show you how to have some fun with it. Okay, not rolling on the floor laughing fun. Probably more like, "what can I do instead of my taxes?" fun. But, hey, fun [...]
hardiness_zones
The New USDA Hardiness Map and Cold Climate Gardening
February 3, 2012 – Posted in: FAQThe new hardiness map put out by the USDA is not going to help you at all if you've been gardening in the same spot for any length of time with your eyes open and your mind engaged. Let's face it: common sense and experience will trump aggregated data every time. It doesn't matter what [...]
How Do You Know If A Plant Is Hardy?
January 21, 2010 – Posted in: FAQ, Featured, Plant infoI 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?
February 7, 2008 – Posted in: FAQThis 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?
December 26, 2006 – Posted in: FAQ, WeatherHistory 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?
December 27, 2002 – Posted in: WeatherI 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 [...]
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