The Importance of Knowing Your Gardening Zones

If you love to garden, it’s important to understand your gardening zone. This will help you choose plants that are guaranteed to thrive in your climate and keep your gardens beautiful season after season. We spoke with gardening experts to learn more about how your plant zones affect your gardening experiences.

The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map divides the country into 13 zones based on the average annual extreme minimum winter temperature. It’s like a GPS for your garden, guiding you toward plants that can weather the climate where you live. This is a valuable tool for gardeners of all levels and experience, but it’s especially helpful to those new to the hobby or those who are considering adding more perennials or trees to their gardens.

However, these maps aren’t always entirely accurate. There are a variety of other factors that can impact whether or not a specific plant will grow well in your area, including soil drainage, humidity, air quality, elevation and even weather patterns such as wind chill and snow cover. Additionally, micro-climates can exist within a region, making one part of a city or town warmer than another, or even on the same plot of land.

While it’s difficult to account for all of these variables in a national map, many local and regional resources are available to help you determine the best plants for your home landscape. Check with your local nurseries, botanical gardens and other garden centers to get in-depth knowledge of the local climate conditions. These experts can also offer advice on a wide range of plant options and help you select the varieties that will work best for your garden.

When it comes to choosing perennial flowers, vines, shrubs and trees that will survive your climate, your growing zone is the most important factor. But you’ll want to pay attention to your frost dates as well, which will indicate when it’s safe to start planting. You can use tools such as The Old Farmer’s Almanac’s frost dates finder or the USDA’s zip code tool to get an idea of your local first and last frost dates.

If you’re shopping at a local nursery, it’s likely that they will only sell and recommend plants that are rated for your particular growing zone. Online retailers and mail-order catalogs may not be as diligent. This is why it’s important to know your zone before you start shopping, so you don’t end up with plants that won’t survive.

In addition to knowing your zone, it’s also important to remember that gardening is a year-round activity. Even though it’s hot and humid in the summer, you can grow vegetables and herbs that will mature in a short amount of time with proper care. You just need to make sure that your plants are getting enough sunlight and water throughout the growing season. If you’re concerned about your soil, you can invest in a compost system to improve the health of your garden and provide your plants with nutrient-rich food.