Receive the latest news on all the top superfoods, recipes, natural remedies, diets, food tips, and more! When choosing plants for your garden, you need to know which shrubs and perennials in garden catalogs are hardy enough to survive winter in your region. When planning a home garden, look up your growing zones on USDA plant hardiness maps to determine which crops will grow well in your area.

National, regional, and state maps are available under the View Maps section. You can check your frost dates here. Since annual plants are meant to last the length of one growing season, you don’t need to bother with planting zones. The 11 zones are categorized into an “a” section and a “b” section that represent a 5 F difference for greater precision.
Plant hardiness zones, which are also called planting zones or growing zones, will help you determine which plants grow best in your region’s climate. Seed dealers and nurseries label their products according to their USDA Plant Hardiness Zones, and these zone designations serve as guides for gardeners. Meanwhile, plants like birds of paradise (Strelitzia reginae, zones 9 to 11), gerbera daisies (Gerbera jamesonii, zones 9 to 11) and purple fountain grass (Pennisetum setaceum Rubrum, zones 9 to 11) are tender. Based on the 2012 USDA Hardiness Zone Map, this interactive version covers the state of New Mexico which ranges from USDA Zone 4b to USDA Zone 9b. First, you need to understand what plant hardiness maps are for and how they can help you find varieties that will grow best in your area. The Department of Agriculture (USDA) first published the original map indicating planting zones in 1960. To avoid wasting your time and energy when gardening, remember that winter damage often occurs when you grow plants beyond their designated range or “comfort zone.”. Parts of Alaska lie in USDA planting zone 1. National, regional, and state maps are available under the View Maps section. The American Horticultural Society and the U.S. National Arboretum sponsored the publication. While the USDA system is commonly used in the East, a competing system called the “Sunset climate zones” is used more often in the West. Het is een maat die aangeeft of plantensoorten in een gebied de winter kunnen overleven. Planning to start a home garden? Het is een maat die aangeeft of plantensoorten in een gebied de winter kunnen overleven. De meest voorkomende indelingen in hardheidszones zijn die van de USDA[1] (United States Department of Agriculture) en die van de RHS[2] (Royal Horticultural Society). If you plan on growing perennial plants, you need to learn more about your planting zones.