What’s up guys it’s JV Charles back at ya! Every spring I used to say darn I need to know my plant hardiness zone when I was shopping for starters. So I figured I would put together a blog so I wouldn’t forget! This helps pick the best plants for my area’s weather. The USDA map shows hardiness zones for North America, with 13 zones since 2023.1
The zones depend on the coldest temperatures over 30 years. This means we consider usual cold and warm times.2 Knowing this helps me decide when to plant and when to pick my crops.
Are you just beginning or are you an expert? Finding your gardening zone is key to a successful garden. Let’s figure out your zone!
Understanding Gardening Zones
As a gardener, itโs key to know the gardening climates and growing zones where you live. The USDA zones sort places by how cold they get. This helps us know if a plant will do well where we are.
What are USDA Plant Hardiness Zones?
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zones13 split North America into areas. They do this by looking at how cold it gets each year. There are zones from 1 to 13, each getting 10 degrees warmer than the last1. Inside each zone, there are “a” and “b” parts, showing smaller temperature changes3.
Take Zone 4, for example. It includes places where it gets from -30ยฐF to -20ยฐF. It has 4a (-30ยฐF to -25ยฐF) and 4b (-25ยฐF to -20ยฐF) parts3. These areas are marked with colors. A warmer zone is a different color than a colder one, moving up by 10 degrees each time4.