7 Different Gardening Zones
Last week, I was driving a friend of mine up to a reunion event in the North Georgia mountains. He and I were in deep conversation, as he told me as much about his job as he possibly could. I was entranced as I listened to some of his tales from his line of work; he’s a spy for the U.S. government, and searches for weapons of mass destruction around the world. Very, very interesting stories!
In the midst of these stories, he paused, and asked me about some of the vegetation that we were driving through. He was curious to know if all of Georgia was like the mountainous area we were traversing through. I spent a few moments explaining the differences in my area and the mountains, and then we went back to spy stories.
The USA is broken into 11 different gardening zones. Each zone is 10 degrees warmer (or colder) in the average winter than the adjacent zone. These zones help gardeners a great deal around the nation, as they help to indicate if a plant will grow properly and to its potential in any given area. Zones were created by the United States Department of Agriculture first in 1960, and then revised in 1990.
Our area of central Georgia is located in zone 7. Plants in our area are not as hardy when it comes to colder temperatures, like plants found in zones 3, 4, and even 5, in the northern states in the USA. Likewise, those plants in these zones will not likely survive the heat found in our zone 7.
When purchasing plants at large farm and garden stores, or maybe from your own local garden stores, look to make sure that the plant tag indicates that the plant you are buying is appropriate for your zone. You can find this information on the back of most plant tags. Most plants can be grown in several zones, not just the zone you live in.
For example, a plant grown in central Georgia, and zone 7 can also be grown in zones five through nine. Other plants might have a large zone area they can be grown in, while some plants might have a smaller amount of zones they can survive in.
Micro climates are those local atmospheric areas where the climate differs slightly from the surrounding area. As a result, a different growing zone may be the result. A micro climate may refer to a small or large amount of land near bodies of water, thus cooling the atmosphere and creating a lower zone. On the other hand, a micro climate may raise a zone due to heat brought about from gardens located near brick, concrete, cement, and other areas absorbing the sun’s energy.
Before you spend a large amount of money on plants for your own garden, make sure that check to ensure that they are right for the zone you live in. A little bit of information beforehand can save you not only money, but time as well. Enjoy!