My sister pointed out to me that the USDA has updated the plant zone hardiness map. In many areas, zones have changed reflecting warmer climates. I am just north west of Boston and was in zone 6a. Now I am squarely in zone 6b. This means there has been a 5*F change in minimum average extreme winter temperature. Up from -10* (in the last USDA version released in 1990) to -5* (the average from 1976 to 2005) in the map released a couple days ago.
A couple of links are here:
Plant zone maps at the USDA Agricultural Research Service and
An article at The Salt, NPR
I am in 7a now!!! Was with you!! Can't believe it!!
ReplyDeleteWow, I'm from 4b to 5a! Very cool. Thanks for this post, it was incredibly informative!
ReplyDeleteWe have changed too for the
ReplyDeletebetter but the Master Gardeners around here are warning us to be careful about getting too excited over the change. We shall see.
Lisa
The tide goes out... the tide comes in again. Let's just hope there's some balance left in this particular planet.
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