What are climate hardiness zones, and how do they relate to my plants?
Our agricultural department and the US Department of Agriculture have worked together in an attempt to define the degrees of coldness in different regions of North America. As a result, we have the USDA cold hardiness map, which correlates with the plant hardiness. It takes into account elevation, latitude, snowfall and the influence of continental air masses. Many nursery catalogues have also assigned a hardiness zone to most plants in an effort to assist folks to match plants to their hardiness zones. This is not an exact science because of the effects of micro-climates, outflow winds and many other factors. It is, however, an excellent guide to the winter hardiness of plants in many areas. The lower the zone, the more cold hardy plants must be. With extra winter protection and sheltered locations, many higher zoned plants can survive in colder zones. • Too often my hanging baskets dry up in early summer. How can I get them to stand up longer? One type of basket does not fit all situ
