Hardiness Zones: Plan Your Garden Smarter!
If you’re living in Northern Alberta, I highly doubt that you’d be thinking about what tropical plants you could grow in your garden… Similarly, I’m sure that you wouldn’t be worrying much about how cold-hardy your plants are if you were living in California. Clearly, climate has a lot to do with the kinds of plants we choose to grow. North American governments provide plenty of data on this relationship. The data is compiled into “Plant Hardiness Maps” that define plant hardiness zones. These zones help gardeners determine what plants will thrive in their specific area!
Keep in mind that these zones are based on broad averages and a wide range of data. There is potential for the climates outlined in these zones to change over time, and for small regions of these zones to be exceptions! Plant health depends on so many factors that cannot be represented perfectly by a map like this. Always keep an eye on your most accurate local weather data when determining what to plant and when.
Canadian Plant Hardiness Zones
Canada’s cooler climates require cold-hardy plants. As you can see from the map, much of the densely-populated areas lie between the 6a and 3a zones. To find what zone you live in and what kind of plants will thrive in your location, check out this reference from Natural Resources Canada.
Canada’s Plant Hardiness Zones are determined based on several factors including maximum temperatures and the length of time considered frost-free. The USDA Plant Hardiness Zones, on the other hand, are strictly determined based on minimum winter temperatures. Canada provides a map based on this parameter as well for convenience.
US Plant Hardiness Zones
For US resident readers, head to this link to identify your zone, and to obtain annual minimum winter temperature data!
No matter what zone you’re in, your local BigYellowBag supplier has calibrated their Garden Soil to supercharge your garden!
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