New USDA Plant Hardiness Zones

I haven't seen this mentioned much in the mainstream press, but the new USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map shows some shifts in zone for many regions.

My own went from 6b to 7a.

I'm in a unique position to have returned to a place where I'd gardened in the past after 20 years away, so I can compare then to now. What I've observed:

- far fewer viceroy and monarch butterflies
- far fewer insects of all types
- it's now frequently too hot to grow many annuals in the fall season
- some plants that would die in winter previously, such as lavender and rosemary, can now sometimes overwinter
- armadillos are moving up from the south to our area
- declines in bird species, even once-common ones like blue jays

What I've done in response to weather trends:

- literally stopped buying seeds from an outlet one state to the north of us and instead purchase from two suppliers south of us, which has given better results
- with an assist from heat-sink rocks, overwinter tender perennials
- cut back on my late summer/fall crops
- shifted into more lacto-fermentation and dehydrating to store in a basement that stays 50-68 year round
- cut cool-weather lovers such as arugula and chamomile from my rotation
- adding more heat lovers

Ref: Article in Civil Eats on the new zone map

Has your zone changed? Does the zone map match your observations? What are the implications for your gardening plans, now and in the future?

Our area was Zone 6a and is now 6b. But, and it's a big but, we just had cold snap and hit -26F (Zone 4a). And a few years ago we were in the infamous heat dome and were at 105+F where we are typically not above the 90s. With these extreme events, planting for the average is not as useful as it used to be.

I've started planting a wider variety of seeds for cold, heat, drought, wet, etc. so that in any one year, I should get a decent harvest. I just purchased greenhouse shade cloth to drape over three of my main garden beds when temperatures get above 95F (and they will). We'll see how that works this summer and if it's worth the cost.

Mulch is my best friend in the garden. It helps to buffer deep cold in winter, heat in summer, and holds water during the dry periods. But it can also rob soil of water if not used correctly.

Even more important, I'm working on building healthy soil so that the life in the soil can help keep my plants resilient during extreme weather.

I'm always interested in techniques that others have used successfully.

Yes, my zone changed from Zone 5b to 6a recently, kicking me out of the possibility of participating in Paul's dirt-cheap gardening video! Not that I would have made the cut, but I would have given it the ol' college try. Though being from the boonies in the NE till plain of Indiana,  I have to buffer any eco-statements with a "but there's no such thing as climate change..."

j

Yes my zone changed as well. It will not really impact what I plant, I've always been aggressive in planting things I want to try out even if it's outside of the growing zone, if you can start your seedlings indoors you can be a lot more flexible with what you grow as long as it's not a crop with smaller plants. Anything that's smaller or that I grow in bulk I want to seed in the ground. But if there is something you really want from a hotter zone thab yours if it's an annual there is usually a way! The main thing I care about is how long to harvest if it's really long if I can't start the seeds early I'm likely to pass because the frost is super unpredictable.

The biggest consideration I take into account are rust/mildew resistance, I've had too many promising looking fields totally ruined by that after spending all summer tending to them.

Following that is shade or full sun. Then water requirements.

The main issue with the loss of insects isn't due to the warmer weather. That's both a good thing and a bad thing. Its good in the sense that we collectively can easily change but is all driven by money now. In the last twenty years where I live there has been an explosion of mosquito / tick spraying companies and franchises that just kill everything. I think most of the bee keepers have lost 2/3rds of their hives due to it. I have videos of billowing clouds of this crap.

The county runs the real mosquitoe control program and they do not use aerosols. They apply an enzyme that prevents the mosquito lavre from hatching after confirming that there are a sufficient number in a water body. If they detect a mosquito borne disease obviously they increased their response.