I am in Tulsa, OK and I know I am in zone 7 but I cannot find a chart that divides a and b. What is the difference and why do the charts I google not have a & b? My zip is 74145.
Thanks.
What zone
Hi, welcome to DG, Tricia! Did you look for the USDA zone map? - http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/hzm-sm1.html
Will
That's actually the old one from 1990. I used http://www.arborday.org/media/Zones.cfm that I found on The Old Farmer's almanac site http://www.almanac.com/ but looking back they say that the USDA is the one most go by as of 2006 there is this:
"The Arbor Day Foundation has recently completed an extensive updating of U.S. Hardiness Zones based upon data from 5,000 National Climatic Data Center cooperative stations across the continental United States."
I guess that's when they also did away with the a & b then.
It's just a matter of preference, but I wouldn't use any information from a company that sells plants, (even though they say not for profit). I have noticed nurseries will put out information like zone maps to look more appealing for the sale of they're plants to everybody. Thats just me, I like Arbor Day actually. I've been to they're headquarters in Nebraska City, NE., I've stayed in they're lodge and been to they're greenhouse.
It's a neat place, worthy of a vacation visit.
Even though my zip code says this is zone 6, I consider it 5b myself. I don't set out to buy zone 6 plants, although I have a few that have done okay. I keep the receipts for sure on them!
Will
p.s. Here is they're state park! It's a neat place. Although, I was a little disappointed in the amount of non-native trees there and all around they're headquarters and properties there.
This message was edited Mar 29, 2011 2:13 PM
I've been hearing good things about this inter-active zone map. - http://www.plantmaps.com/ They even want a place for it here at DG.
Enter you're zip it says! - http://www.plantmaps.com/hardiness-zone-zipcode-search-widget.php
You're also supposed to see exactly how close to the zone edges you are.
Seems I'm mostly 5b, but on one map I'm 6a. I think I'll just figure I'm "around 5b".
Muttlover, I am native to Quincy. It is my birth city although I lived in Liberty but of course no hospital there. I spent very early years of my life in Liberty, Quincy, and Hannibal.
Hello everyone. You should really check plant zones for hot and cold. I attended a class one time and they said Missouri had summers like Atlanta, GA and winters like Minn, MN. Which is why sometimes a plant will be rated for zone 5a and still not survive, because it can't take the heat and humdity.
Here is a link to heat zones
http://www.ahs.org/publications/heat_zone_map.htm and explains how and why they got started.
The Hardiness Zones - cold zone
There are 11 Hardiness Zones in North America. Zone 1 identifies areas in which the average annual minimum temperature falls below -50 degrees Fahrenheit. Zones 2 through 10 identify a succession of 10 degree increments above Zone 1 temperatures. For example, Zone 2 identifies areas in which the average annual minimum temperature reaches between -40 and -50 degrees Fahrenheit, while Zone 7 temperatures reach between 10 degrees and 0 degrees Fahrenheit. In Zone 11 regions, the average annual minimum temperature remains above 40 degrees Fahrenheit.
Each Zone from 2 through 10 is further divided into two five-degree increments, labeled “a” and “b,” respectively. So, for example, Zone 2a identifies areas in which the average annual minimum temperature reaches between -45 and -50 degrees Fahrenheit, while Zone 2b identifies temperatures between -40 and -45 degrees Fahrenheit. This division is repeated for each Zone through 10.
This is probably more info than anyone really wanted...rofl.
But it's good info!! LOL
Yes it is, it says my heat zone is 7.
Same here.