New Federal Planting Map Reflects Warming ›

“The government’s colorful map of planting zones is being updated for a warmer 21st century.The official guide for 80 million gardeners and a staple on seed packets reflects a new reality: The coldest day of the year isn’t as cold as it used to be. So some plants that once seemed too vulnerable to cold can now survive farther north.

It’s the first time since 1990 that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has updated the map and much has changed. Nearly entire states, such as Ohio, Nebraska and Texas, are in warmer zones.

The new guide, unveiled Wednesday at the National Arboretum, also uses better weather data and offers more interactive technology.

“It truly does reflect state of the art,” said USDA chief scientist Catherine Woteki.

Gardeners can register their zip code into the online map and their zone will pop up. It shows the exact average coldest temperature for each of the 26 zones, even though zones are based on five degree increments.

For example, Des Moines, Iowa, used to be in zone 5a, meaning the lowest temperature on average was between minus 15 and minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit. Now it’s 5b, which has a coldest temperature of 10 to 15 degrees below zero.”

Read more: Time

  01/30/12 at 10:00am
  1. insamnimaniac reblogged this from emergentfutures
  2. drsarahjensen reblogged this from emergentfutures
  3. davidzgarden reblogged this from emergentfutures
  4. moonhowler56 reblogged this from emergentfutures
  5. emergentfutures reblogged this from climateadaptation
  6. daydreamering reblogged this from climateadaptation
  7. mapping2012 reblogged this from climateadaptation
  8. caviarmpits reblogged this from impulsivefarmer
  9. impulsivefarmer reblogged this from climateadaptation
  10. stormbear reblogged this from climateadaptation
  11. olga-aglow reblogged this from climateadaptation
  12. kelsbobels11 reblogged this from climateadaptation
  13. climateadaptation posted this