Plant Grow Zones

Many people are often mesmerized at the ability of some gardeners to grow beautiful crops, while they themselves have failed growths. Part of the trick is knowing what to grow in your part of the country—Different crops grow differently throughout the U.S.

Wouldn’t it be cool if someone made an interactive map that would show you the variable temperatures across America? Okay, of course there already is.

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To make purchasing trees, shrubs, flowering plants and vegetables easier on people who want to overhaul their gardens or become self-sufficient, the United States Department of Agriculture (U.S.D.A.) has divided the country up into 13 hardiness zones. These zones are determined by the lowest average temperature, and are color-coded to make it easier to figure which plants will grow properly in your particular area.

However, just because a plant is color-coded to your specific zone, that doesn’t mean that it will grow in your yard. Here are a few things to help you decode the U.S.D.A. Plant Hardiness map and keep you purchasing vegetables that won’t have a fighting chance:

1) Look for your specific zone. Each is broken down into sub-sections, like 6a and 6b. The designation for 6a consists of temperatures that drop down to between -10 and -5 degrees, while 6b is slightly warmer with temperatures at the most falling between -5 and 0 degrees. That small difference can become a big one when purchasing plants, so just because the label on the back of the seed packet states that they will grow in zone 6, it does not mean that they are fine to plant in your yard. Make sure to do your research in these types of situations in order to find out exactly what that plants minimum temperature is.

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