Southern staples like magnolia trees and camellias may now be able to grow without frost damage in once-frigid Boston.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s ” plant hardiness zone map ” was updated Wednesday for the first time in a decade, and it shows the impact that climate change will have on gardens and yards across the country.
Climate shifts aren’t even — the Midwest warmed more than the Southeast, for example. But the map will give new guidance to growers about which flowers, vegetables and shrubs are most likely to thrive in a particular region.
One key figure on the map is the lowest likely winter temperature in a given region, which is important for determining which plants may survive the season. It’s calculated by averaging the lowest winter temperatures of the past 30 years.
I guess that’s one way to spin a bad thing.
The Map: https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/
I’ve lived in my area in zone 7b since 2002 (old scale). That’s single digits ~ half of years.
It hasn’t gotten that cold since I’ve moved here.
If anyone of a sufficient age denies climate change, I think they’re delusional.
This is not something that can only be determined through sensitive statistics. It’s affecting our day to day lives.
Puerto Rico about to find out what a zone 14 is.
Nasty new bugs.
Pretty soon will be growing oranges in Maine.
You can already grow citrus in Seattle. Never would have thought.
Moved from ~5b to ~6a. No surprise. The limit now is the reduced daylight hours for good growing during the fall/winter.