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This past February, I had purchased my very first plant, a pot of various succulents, from a conference I attended with my fiance. I didn’t have what many would call a green thumb. It was quite the opposite actually. Most plants I tried to grow would die within the month. Determined to finally grow something, I did what any budding gardener would do and researched all that I could on succulents and best gardening practices.
[img source: https://www.greener-garden.com/index.php?route=pavblog/blog&blog_id=65 ]
Some of the research led me to groups and forums online where people from around the world were asking for advice growing the most mundane to the most exotic of plants. Many of those seeking or providing information would refer to something called the “zone.” Unfamiliar with the terminology, I searched the internet to get acquainted with the “zone,” also known as Hardiness Zones.
[img source: https://www.businesshorsepower.com/3-practical-steps-for-getting-in-the-zone/]
Hardiness zones were developed to help describe certain geographic areas where the average minimum winter temperature lies within a specific range. The United States Department of Agriculture developed this rough guide to assist landscaping and gardening throughout the country.
[img source: https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb/]
The zoning guide is divided into thirteen zones, with a ten degree Fahrenheit range. The coldest zone, zone 1, has an average annual extreme minimum temperature of -60°F to -50°F, while the hottest zone, zone 13 has an average annual extreme minimum temperature of 60°F to 70°F.
[img source: https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/phzmweb/interactivemap.aspx]
Historically, the first geographical hardiness zone system was generated in 1927 by two researchers, Alfres Rehder and Donald Wyman, and ultimately fell out of complete use by 1971. This coincided with the introduction of the USDA system in 1960. In 1990, the USDA refined the hardiness zone map by dividing each zone into two parts, a and b. Since then, other groups like the American Horticultural Society and the Arbor Day Foundation had provided similar hardiness zone maps using updated data and projections, until it was most recently updated in 2012 by the USDA.
[img source: https://ford-enthusiast.com/read-the-article-below/]
Why is knowing the hardiness zone you live in important to the kinds of plants you may decide to grow? All plants require certain conditions to grow and thrive, whether it’s the temperature, rainfall, or soil composition and chemistry. If some of these conditions are not met, they may fail to properly propagate or flower. These failed attempts to grow plants unsuited to their environment can also be expensive.
[img source: https://www.britannica.com/story/why-do-plants-wilt]
In spite of how important it is to know the hardiness zone you live in for gardening, this method does have its limitations as well. One of the biggest factors to consider is that the USDA system is not necessarily compatible with every region in the world; The United Kingdom, Europe, and Australia have their own separate hardiness zone systems which take into account their unique locations and environments. The zones are also primarily to predict the winter survivability of plants and do not take into account other major factors, like humidity, frequency of precipitation, soil drainage, etc.
[img source: https://davisla.wordpress.com/plant-zones/europe-plant-hardiness-zone-map/]
Hardiness zones are a strong reference to have when deciding what kinds of plants you want to grow in your area. While they are not fool-proof and there are definitely some considerations to make, they can help turn gardening from an exercise in futility to a -fruitful- experience.
[img source: https://steemit.com/food/@beautyangel/a-fruitful-experience]
This is my first time trying to grow and maintain a plant. If any of the readers have their own tips, tricks, or life hacks to help their little seeds grow, or have a story about their most rewarding gardening experiences, I would love to see them in the comments below. Hopefully we can all grow from these stories and experiences!
[img source: https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/yes-roundabout-to-be-continued]
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