Succulents and More™

Yesterday (January 25, 2012), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) unveiled the 2012 version of their Plant Hardiness Zone Map. This is the first revision since 1990, and based on data collected since then, the zone boundaries have shifted in many places. To many gardeners, this confirms a trend they’ve noticed themselves: Winters are getting milder than they used to be, allowing them to grow plants that even 10 years ago might not have survived the winter. Newspapers all around the country are reporting on this phenomenon today. Here are just a few: Wichita Eagle , Wichita, Kansas Akron Beacon Journal , Akron, Ohio Washington Post , Washington, DC San Francisco Chronicle , San Francisco, CA What does this mean for you? Probably not much because you already know what works in your garden and what doesn’t. But you might see plants in local nurseries that didn’t show up in the past because now they can “officially” be grown in your area. My zone is still 9b. As the San Franc...

I’m sure that you, as an avid gardener, know your plant hardiness zone. There are many websites that display your zone after you enter your zip code. Some may only give full zones, others may indicate subzones as well (e.g. 9b, my zone). However, I just came across a site that beats all other hands down. It’s called PlantMaps.com , and it displays zone information for the USA, Canada, and the UK. What makes it so great is its ease of use and the way information is displayed. Using Google Maps technology, it lets you drill down as far as you like, even to street level, although that’s not very useful in this case. For example, selecting the map for my home state of California I get this: Using the zone boxes along the left and the top, I can display and hide zones as desired. Entering my zip code results in a map with weather statistics: After I close the weather statistics, I see a map of my region with the zone overlay. I can then zoom in or out to see if I live close to a lowe...