What Is Your Plant Zone?

Plant zones are determined by the United States Department of Agriculture to help you determine what will grow best in your area. This is based on average high & low temperatures in a given area. How much rainfall/snow and humidity or aridity can also play a part in whether a plant will “survive” or “thrive” in a given area.  The range of these criteria determines which plants will thrive best there. I say thrive because you can have some plants that can survive there, but may not do well or would need more attention than typically needed. Now if your zone has changed any, don’t rip out your existing plants… they can’t read so they don’t know there may have been changes!

Plants you purchase may have a tag which gives you the plant common name, the botanical name, the light & water needs, height & width and often zone designation. The store/nursery where you purchase your plants from should be bringing in plants that will do well in your area.  This enables you to ensure your plants will thrive in your garden. Of course, this doesn’t mean you can forego the necessities like water & plant food!

Something else you may see on the tag may be the words “annual” (lives for one season; grow, flower & die) or “perennial” (lives all year, but may flower only during a specific season of the year). These designations may not be necessarily true for your area. Some plants that may live all year in your area may actually succumb to the cold or heat variations of another area, but still meet the basic criteria for both areas. This means that a perennial would become an annual; dying off after the season. Rarely have I found annuals that turn into perennials in a milder climate; their flowering season may just extend a bit longer.   I have found that often the tags will say that a given plant is an annual in my area when I know it is a perennial. (Such as a Coral Bells plant, or a Periwinkle.)  This can be because the grower may provide these plants to many regions but it is not monetarily conducive to having separate labels made. This is where your knowledge or the nursery staff’s knowledge can be valuable. They should know their area or have access to the information you need. One word of caution: often the “box” store ( Lowe’s, Home Depot, etc.) employees don’t have anything but rudimentary knowledge and even then it may not be correct. They know what they are told and may only be told what will help sell the plant. (The growers buy table space and are in charge of stocking. Often the rep for the grower will come in and rearrange or clean out unacceptable plant material every day so their product looks good.) I am not disparaging the “box” employee; it is a by-product of the nature of their business. A nursery, such as Armstrong, survives on its knowledge & customer service so they must know their product well. Also, a confident nurseryman or woman will not be afraid to say “I don’t know” but a really good one will follow with “But I’ll find out for you!”

 What is great about the new zone map website is now you can access the info by your zip code. Previously, because the map was often printed small, you had to venture a guess which colored area was yours and then find it on the key. This guess work is eliminated with the new map website!

So click on the link for the website at the top of this blog, type in your zip and learn about your area! Happy Gardening!