The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map is your next step in acquiring necessary information. We have prodivded you with a copy of the zone map here. This map is of the United States and its colors represent different temperature ranges. You locate your state and its representative color, locate the color key below the map, and determine the temperature range of your area. The corresponding number, 1-10, is your hardiness zone.

You want to make sure that the map information agrees with the information you collected from the weather.com site. If there is a discrepancy, you have a microclimate that differs from the rest of you area’s climate. If this happens, you should find the corresponding zone number for your microclimate and use it in determining which plants to include in your project.

Plants in the United States have a corresponding hardiness zone number, which represents the temperature range they will best survive. When purchasing your plants make sure you have this information as it will save you both time and money. This information should be available from the garden store, whether in your neighborhood or on-line. Often plants will thrive in more than one zone and it will be represented as a range; example 4-8.  If only one zone is listed, the plant will tolerate the temperature of that particular zone and any zones warmer as indicated by the hardiness zone map.

Because climate is more than just temperature, not all plants will thrive even if you are careful and apply the hardiness zone map to your plans. Soil type and condition, available sunlight, humidity, wind and available water are all considerations when choosing your plant material. The Sunset Zones maps, found at www.sunset.com, take these additional conditions into account in deciding hardiness zones. This map is most helpful for the western United States, but there is information for the rest of the country.