Pushing the Zone and S Facing House

The front of my house faces South and we have a couple feet of exposed cement foundation. If I live in a zone 6 climate, how far could i experiment with gorwing out of my zone. I've thought about growing zone 7 plants, but could I potentially go zone 8 or beyond?

Hi Adam.  You will likely be able to jump a zone, or maybe two.  To go that far or even further, and to even make a two zone jump, it depends on other variables (besides your South house face), such as wind exposure, the slope to the south of the house, and if there is a lot of thermal potential such as large rocks, or pools of water that can radiate heat into the night, or even darker soils/mulches.  By eliminating wind, increasing slope down away from the house to the South, and adding thermal mass, and maybe coloring your soil surface with biochar, you might be able to do a lot more.  It really depends on a lot of variables, but it all comes down to maintaining heat.  Obviously, you can only do so much in a temperate environment, as you will have the seasonal limits of winter cooling and shorter days to contend with.      

Adam Geriak wrote:The front of my house faces South and we have a couple feet of exposed cement foundation. If I live in a zone 6 climate, how far could i experiment with growing out of my zone. I've thought about growing zone 7 plants, but could I potentially go zone 8 or beyond?

One zone easily, probably two.

I grew coffee and key limes (zone 10) in North Florida on the south wall of my house (zone 8/9). It's truly amazing.