Planting a Garden Check Out Your Zone

Do you plan to garden or plant this spring? Check out USDA’s 2012 Plant Hardiness Zone Map for help determining which plants are likely to thrive in your location.

If you live in zones 1-10, take a look at the U.S. National Arboretum’s examples of plants that should succeed in those zones.  This site also contains tips on planting.

The newly revised map reflects several changes:

• A new ZIP code finder allows you to identify your area’s Plant Hardiness Zone.
• Two new zones, 12 and 13, have been added for regions with average annual extreme minimum temperatures above 50 degrees and 60 degrees F. These zones appear on the maps for Hawaii and Puerto Rico.
• The 2012 map reflects 30 years of weather data (1976-2005). The previous edition–published in 1990–reflected 13 years of data (1974-1986).
• Learn more about what’s new in the 2012 edition of the Plant Hardiness Zone Map .