Planting Zones
What are Zone Maps?
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Gardeners need a way to compare their garden climates with the climate where a plant is known to grow well. That's why climate zone maps were created. Zone maps are tools that show where various permanent landscape plants can adapt. If you want a shrub, perennial, or tree to survive and grow year after year, the plant must tolerate year-round conditions in your area, such as the lowest and highest temperatures and the amount and distribution of rainfall.
The 1990 USDA Hardiness Zone Map
The USDA Hardiness Zone Map is one of several maps developed to provide this critical climate information. The USDA map is the one most gardeners in the eastern United States rely on, and the one that most national garden magazines, catalogs, books, and many nurseries currently use. This map divides North America into 11 separate zones. Each zone is 10?F warmer (or colder) in an average winter than the adjacent zone. (In some versions of the map, each zone is further divided into "a" and "b" regions.)
Great for the East
The USDA map does a fine job of delineating the garden climates of the eastern half of North America. That area is comparatively flat, so mapping is mostly a matter of drawing lines approximately parallel to the Gulf Coast every 120 miles or so as you move north. The lines tilt northeast as they approach the Eastern Seaboard. They also demarcate the special climates formed by the Great Lakes and by the Appalachian mountain ranges.
Zone Map Drawbacks
But this map has shortcomings. In the eastern half of the country, the USDA map doesn't account for the beneficial effect of a snow cover over perennial plants, the regularity or absence of freeze-thaw cycles, or soil drainage during cold periods. And in the rest of the country (west of the 100th meridian, which runs roughly through the middle of North and South Dakota and down through Texas west of Laredo), the USDA map fails.
Problems in the West
Many factors beside winter lows, such as elevation and precipitation, determine western growing climates in the West. Weather comes in from the Pacific Ocean and gradually becomes less marine (humid) and more continental (drier) as it moves over and around mountain range after mountain range. While cities in similar zones in the East can have similar climates and grow similar plants, in the West it varies greatly. For example, the weather and plants in low elevation, coastal Seattle are much different than in high elevation, inland Tucson, Arizona, even though they're in the same zone USDA zone 8.
Hardness map
http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/ushzmap.html
What Are Planting Zones?
The planting zones, also called hardiness zones, divide the United States, Mexico and Canada into 11 areas. Each of the gardening zones is based on a 10 degree Fahrenheit difference in the average annual minimum temperature.
Planting Zones 1 and 2a, the coldest, represent Canada. The United States falls within zones 2 through 10. Hawaii and Mexico are represented by zone 11, the hottest zone.
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Zone |
Fahrenheit |
Celsius |
Example Cities |
|
1 |
Below -50 |
Below -45.6 |
Fairbanks, Alaska; Northwest Territories (Canada) |
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2a |
-50 to -45 |
-42.8 to -45.5 |
Prudhoe Bay, Alaska; Flin Fon, Menitoba (Canada) |
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2b |
-45 to -40 |
-40.0 to -42.7 |
Unalakleet, Alaska; Pinecreek Minnesota |
|
3a |
-40 to -35 |
-37.3 to -39.9 |
International Falls, Minnesota; St. Michael, Alaska |
|
3b |
-35 to -30 |
-34.5 to -37.2 |
Tomahawk, Wisconsin; Sidney, Montana |
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4a |
-30 to -25 |
-31.7 to -34.4 |
St. Paul, Minnesota; Lewistown, Montana |
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4b |
-25 to -20 |
-28.9 to -31.6 |
Northwood, Iowa; Nebraska |
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5a |
-20 to -15 |
-26.2 to -28.8 |
Des Moines, Iowa; Illinois |
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5b |
-15 to -10 |
-23.4 to -26.1 |
Columbia, Missouri; Mansfield, Pennsylvania |
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6a |
-10 to -5 |
-20.6 to -23.3 |
St. Louis, Missouri; Lebanon, Pennsylvania |
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6b |
-5 to 0 |
-17.8 to -20.5 |
McMinnville, Tennessee; Branson, Missouri |
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7a |
0 to 5 |
-15.0 to -17.7 |
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; South Boston, Virginia |
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7b |
5 to 10 |
-12.3 to -14.9 |
Little Rock, Arkansas; Griffin, Georgia |
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8a |
10 to 15 |
-9.5 to -12.2 |
Tifton, Georgia; Dallas, Texas |
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8b |
15 to 20 |
-6.7 to -9.4 |
Austin, Texas; Gainesville, Florida |
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9a |
20 to 25 |
-3.9 to -6.6 |
Houston, Texas; St. Augustine, Florida |
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9b |
25 to 30 |
-1.2 to -3.8 |
Brownsville, Texas; Fort Pierce, Florida |
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10a |
30 to 35 |
1.6 to -1.1 |
Naples, Florida; Victorville, California |
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10b |
35 to 40 |
4.4 to 1.7 |
Miami, Florida; Coral Gables, Florida |
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11 |
Above 40 |
Above 4.5 |
Honolulu, Hawaii; Mazatlan, Mexico |
The 2003 US National Arboretum USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map
USDA Miscellaneous Publication No. 1475, Issued January 1990
Last Updated February 23, 2004
Take a look at the above zone chart. You'll see the lowest average temperature in Zone 2 is -50 to -40 degrees Fahrenheit, while the lowest average temperature in zone 10 is +30 to +40 degrees Fahrenheit.
Suitable
hardiness means
a plant can be expected to
grow in the zone's temperature extremes,
as determined by the lowest average
annual temperature.
Here's an example: If your plant is recommended for a range of gardening zones, the plant is said to be "hardy" in those zones. Let's say zones 5 - 9 are suggested for your perennial. Then you know this plant is suitable for growing in zones 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9.
For complete information about every area of the United States, go to the USDA official planting zones map (a new window will open). Once there, either click on your region on the map, or click on your state's abbreviation. You'll go right to specific regional information about your zone.
Vegetable planning schedule
Cool Season Vegetables
Warm Season Vegetables |
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Starting The Garden With Transplants
1. This document is HS507, one of a series of the Horticultural Sciences Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Revised April 1994. Reviewed May 2003. Visit the EDIS Web Site at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.
2. James M. Stephens, professor, Horticultural Sciences Department, Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville FL 32611.
The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Larry Arrington, Dean
Starting vegetables such as peppers and tomatoes in the garden as transplants rather than seeding directly in the garden row is a common practice.
ADVANTAGES
When you use plants as starts, you realize these main benefits:
1. Avoid adverse weather — Sow seeds indoors during cool weather, then move outdoors, when weather warms up.
2. Transplants give higher early yields, and, in the case of watermelons, give larger fruits.
3. Choose the best plants — Since the seedbed
produces many more plants than needed, only
the very best plants may be planted in the garden.
4. Obtain a small number of plants — Where only a few plants are needed, these may be purchased from a nursery or grown in a seedbed. The cost of expensive seeds may be saved in this way.
5. Reduce seedling decay — The disease-free, precise environment of a planting pot is more
ideal for seed germination and seedling growth than is the garden soil.
6. Seedlings thinned from over-crowded areas may be moved to fill in bare spots.
GROWING TRANSPLANTS
Start your transplants by any of the following methods:
Plant pot — Sow seed directly into a plant Starting The Garden With Transplants 2
band, peat pot, or peat pellet. The peat pellet is a compressed mixture of peat and nutrients about the
size of a jar lid. When placed into water, it expands to form a planting pot soft enough to insert a seed. Many
of those listed above in the "Difficult to transplant" category may be started and transplanted in a plant box.
Seedbox — Sow seed into a container filled with soil or soil mixture. Use sterilized soil where possible.
Most good grade commercial potting soils are sterile. Seedbed — Sow seed into a well-prepared
hotbed, coldframe or open seedbed.
THE SEEDFLAT OR SEEDBOX
A seedbox, or flat, is about the most practical way for a home gardener to start a small number of
plants. In miniature, the seedbox serves the same purpose as a hotbed. Any small, shallow, wooden or
plastic box can be used as a seedbed; however, one 3-5 inches deep, 12 inches wide, and 18 inches long is
most convenient. It should not be too heavy to move easily when the soil is moist. Small cracks in the
bottom provide drainage. A newspaper may be placed in the bottom to prevent soil from dropping through
the cracks. Many manufactured potting flats are available for gardeners to purchase (often called "cell-paks").
These feature ideally-shaped individual plant cubicles. Take a loose, fertile garden soil from an area
where vegetables have not been grown. Better yet, prepare a mixture of one part soil, one part perlite, and
one part peat, or use ready prepared potting mix. Stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons of 6-8-8 fertilizer if garden soil
is used. Prepared potting mixes already contain fertilizer in the right proportion, so are ideal.
Fill the container to within 1/2 inch of the top of the box or container, firm the soil and level with a
board. Moisten the filled flat with water and let drain.
SEEDING THE FLAT
Broadcast tiny seed over the surface and press them gently into the surface with a board. No need to
cover them. For larger seeds, make furrows in the seedbed 1/4 inch deep and two inches apart; cover
seed and press until firm with a board. Place a newspaper or plastic material over the box until
seedlings begin to emerge. Do not let the soil dry out. Thin plants to 2-3 inches apart when they are
about 2 inches high, and transplant them to another flat, paper cups, or plant pots. Before setting plants in
the garden, place them where they will be hardened by the sun and wind. Increase the time the box has
full sunlight each day until plants are thoroughly hardened.
TRANSPLANTING SUGGESTIONS
Most vegetables are ready to set in the garden when they are 4-6 weeks old. Set only the best plants
that are strong, stocky, vigorous and disease free. Tomato plants 4-5 weeks old grow and yield better
than older transplants. Avoid disturbing roots when transplanting.
Where seedlings are to be removed from boxes or flats, block out the soil by cutting into squares. If
individual plant containers are used, moisten the soil and remove from the container before placing in the
garden. Some containers such as the peat pellet may be inserted into the soil. Transplant when conditions are best — soon after
a rain, when cloudy, or in the late afternoon. Protect plants 2-4 days after transplanting with something
like a palmetto fan, brush or board. When setting the plant into the soil, do not
compress the soil around the roots; gently pour water into the hole to settle the soil around the roots. After
the transplanting water has dried a bit, cover the wet spot with dry soil to reduce evaporation.
STARTER SOLUTION
While transplanting, a starter solution helps get the plants off to a quick start. Special starter solutions
may be purchased, or one can be made by dissolving 1-2 tablespoons of 6-6-6 fertilizer in one gallon of
water. A better solution would be one with a high content of phosphate such as 10-50-10. Mix at the
same rate as above. Pour 1/2 pint of the solution into Starting The Garden With Transplants 3
the transplant hole as the plant is set; then cover the moist soil with dry soil.
