Basil, if you go to the USDA website, you'll probably find some....I have in the past...but a suggestion for you.

Although I don't see this mentioned often, there's really a better zoner map for gardeners, it's "Sunset's" zones, and they're much more detailed..a trip to Lowe's in that ever enticing rack of gardening books ought to have illustrations of both. Hope this helps. Paul

Basil,
I found this site that has the sunset zones with a link to the regular USDA zones just below the map, so you can get both. I've always had a hard time seeing from the USDA map whether I'm really in 7a or 7b. Maybe your county extension agent could help.
K.

Here is a link that might be useful: climate zones

basil
here's the map from NC State's website.
chg

Here is a link that might be useful: NC State's Zone Map

chg, thankyou..this is so helpful for everyone. Still, you have to remember microclimates caused by cities, different elevations can make your yard vary from the map.
Just over the line (Meck) into Union Cty. this is definitely 7B but I also push into 8 depending on where I locate the plant.

It looks like I in 7a.

I wanted to be in 7b.

Thank for all the maps and zone information.

Can anybody in n.c. grow zone 10 plants?

"Can anybody in n.c. grow zone 10 plants?"

Why coitonly, Basil... All is required is that you keep them indoors, in a heated greenhouse, or spend SCADS of money on outdoor heaters in the winter... No problem, huh? :)

On a more serious note, I have another (and I think better) zone map link for you, from the National Arbor Day Foundation's website... They used data from 5,000 different reporting stations throughout the country to create an updated map last year that varies a good bit from the map the USDA updated in 1990 (puts almost all of SC in Zone 8, rather than splitting the state diagonally down the middle between 7 and 8).

The map on the link below is downloadable in .pdf format, so you can have a fairly good, big map to look at, or print, and that webpage also has a link to a second page with comparisons between the 1990 USDA map and the Updated Map the Arbor Day Foundation created of how they think things REALLY are (and I agree with THEM, not the USDA, by the way, based on my PERSONAL climatic observations over the past 15 years).

Of course the WARMER you assume your climate zone is the bigger risk you're taking with plants that may be only marginally hardy in this area, but I think if you protect the marginally hardy plants with mulch and possibly by planting them close to structures that will keep down wind, you're usually OK.

As Dottie mentioned, there are many microclimates and ways you can create your own microclimates, such as planting close to the house, close to the chimney may be even better, if you heat with wood, and so forth... You may even put temporary structures around plants in the winter.

Also, most people don't think about watering plants during the winter, but if winter is very dry and also very cold, roots will freeze and die a lot more easily if they're too dry than if they have adequate moisture, so you may want to water your more tender plants occasionally during dry spells in the winter, on warmer days, to protect them during the really cold spells.

Happy Overwintering!
Jeff

Here is a link that might be useful: Arborday.org Hardiness Zones Maps

I see zone 9 alone part of the coast in south carolina and a little spot on the north part of n.c. coast on that map.

Zone 9 + microclimates = zone 10 in n.c. ?

" All is required is that you keep them indoors, in a heated greenhouse, or spend SCADS of money on outdoor heaters in the winter... No problem, huh? :) "

Do you realy think one could grow zone 10 plants in zone 8 outdoors if enought money is spent. The goverment has a lot of money. The goverments has parks.

Maybe Infra-red heat lights, wind breaks and heating cables in the gound in the root area?

One thing I been thinking about trying for a microclimates creation is the use of mirror to get more sun light to a area to get more light and heat. And things to help hold the heat over night.

I don't like the Arbor Day map. :) I don't want to be in zone 8, that's too dang hot.

"I don't like the Arbor Day map. :) I don't want to be in zone 8, that's too dang hot."

Me like it hot. Me don't like cold. Have to wear too much clotheing when cold.

I like long hot summers with a lot of water to jump in.

If they keep changing the zone maps, maybe it will be nice and warm in my area soon. But I am afraid of what gobal warming will do to the earth.

I would like the map better if it was in color and had countries drawn.

I tend to agree with the Arbor Day map at least from my current location.
Still, you have to be in a location for several years to identify a geographic microclimate specific to your little area.
Wind plays a large part as well as the type of construction of your house. Where your big conifers are located makes a difference too.
25 years ago when the country hadn't even thought of moving South to the Carolinas, homes had larger yards. There were fewer streets, fewer homes and fewer commercial buildings.
All these heat absorbing roads and structures have changed the air temperature in many areas of both states but not necessarily the lowest temps.
That part about the Arbor Day map I disagree with.

Well those Zone maps identify the COLDEST WINTER temperatures, Alicia... They bear little relation to the hottest summer temperatures, or how long we endure them... That's a different map, entirely, call the Heat Zone map, which rather than being based on the HOTTEST average single temperature an area receives each summer is based on the average number of days above 85 degrees...

For instance, most of western Washington and Oregon are in a very similar WINTER zone to us, but a much MILDER HEAT zone, which is why they can grow plants like gunnera, which are tender above Zone 7, but don't like temperatures much above 85 degrees, either.

Here's a link to the Heat Zone map, so everyone can see which Heat Zone you're in, as well.

As for the Arbor Day Cold Zone map vs. the USDA map, Dottie, the USDA map was last updated in 1990 and I although it's a big government agency with big government resources, I don't think it's as concerned with being accurate as the Arbor Day Foundation is, which is dedicated to being very precise, so people can plant the right trees in the right areas... Of course, since the USDA map is more CONSERVATIVE on its temperature assesments, you're SAFER using that one, as nobody can really predict when the odd winter will give us the really cold temperatures again. But I still think the Arbor Day map is more accurate, at least in this area.

Here's the link to the American Horticultural Society's Heat Zone map.

Happy Viewing!
Jeff

Here is a link that might be useful: AHS Heat Zone Map

Yup, that puts gardenklutz and me into Zone 8 hot and cold.
Guess that explains why our Lowes and Home Depot stores (and Youngs) offer up a limited variety of Zone 9-10 plants in the past few years.

I thought the USDA zones had hot and cold designations.

Like Dottie said, those zones are only approximations anyway, and it isn't always the lowest lows that kill plants. You have to just try things sometimes and see what works. For example, according to the maps, I'm 7b or 8, but I'm really in a microclimate 7a -- my plants are usually a good 2 weeks behind plants at the JC Raulston Arboretum, and usually even a little behind the plants at the Botanical Garden in Chapel Hill. And I can't overwinter some things that people in Durham or Chapel Hill have no problem with.

alicia
i'm getting more confused with each posting on this zone thing. if you're in a warmer zone 7b/8, or even in a microclimate zone 7a, why would your plants be two weeks behind us in 7a chapel hill? you're further south and east, right? i think i recall that from a previous post.
marsha

Marsha,
It is confusing! I am further south and east, but I live in a low-lying area, with clay heavily amended with compost. It's not uncommon for us to be more than 10 degrees colder than the airport at RDU on a winter's morning. So marginal things don't always overwinter for me.

My mil has the lantana, she is more up on a hill and has sandy soil, so she has better luck overwintering marginal plants.

It is strange, but we are consistently a couple weeks behind the JC Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh. Must be because we have colder nights here. We're about neck and neck with Chapel Hill, with some of their stuff blooming a little before ours sometimes. Of course the plant's own individual microclimate (exposure, soil type), can affect how fast it comes along in the spring too.

When I was a newbie gardener, I purchased lots of things for my garden without thought to hardiness. At the time, I was under the impression that if something was offered for sale at a local nursery or garden center, then it was ok to plant out in my garden, and would survive our winters. I lost quite a few plants due to that misperception, but have been surprised by a few. One plant, which isn't supposed to be hardy here, but has repeatedly come back from the roots each year, is the Hawaiian Ti plant (Cordyline fruticosa). I purchased a few of them on sale one fall and (naively) planted them outside immediately. (duuuuuh..there was a good reason they were on sale) This plants hardiness is rated for zones 10-12, but I have 3 of them that come back, reliably, each spring, and grow like mad until one of our hard freezes kills them back to the ground. I believe that they survive because I have them planted against a south-east facing brick wall, which must create a micro-climate for them. So it is possible to maintain plants in the garden which aren't supposed to be hardy in your zone, without spending tons of cash...in my case, there is a 2 zone difference, which you'd think would mean certain death for those plants. I don't mulch them heavily in the winter. I don't water. I just cut them to the ground when the leaves die back and they always return in the spring. Now, that being said, I'm sure if I actually TRIED to create a micro-climate for a plant which I knew wasn't hardy here, it'd croak on me after the first frost and never return.

Renee

Rivers1202 is the first garder on this form who said she can grow plants zoned 10-12 in her carolina yard.
And she didn't have to spend SCADS of money on outdoor heaters. And she just in zone 8a. Just think what the people in zone 9 can grow.

Maybe if I get my sun reflecting mirrors and windbreak etc. set-up I can. Mirrors could look good in a garden if done the right way.

alicia
thanks for the explanation regarding your particular zone.
i'm catching-on :)

basil
i am a zone-pushing 'fraidy cat. just can't make myself spend money & effort on marginal plants. there's plenty of zone 7 plants to keep me entertained.

marsha

What is " a zone-pushing 'fraidy cat."?

This is what I found out about fraidy cat.

Synopsis:
Fraidy Cat has a small problem: ghosts from his previous eight lives are making it difficult for him to get along with his ninth, and last, life.

basil
it means i'm "afraid" (more like, reluctant) to try to grow things that aren't designated as hardy in my zone.
i'm in zone 7, i won't invest in zone 8+ plants. just a quirk of mine. *shrug*

maybe my 8th life included vast over-wintering failures :)
marsha

I live in Kure Beach, which because of the close proximity of the ocean and Cape Fear River,(less than 1 mile apart) makes my area zone 9. Love it!
During the winter, we're normally 5-10 degrees warmer than Wilmington. The lowest temp we get is mid-20's and that's for no more than a week.
Barb

Well, dang it--I always thought I was 7a but according to the NC State map I'm 6b.....Oh well, good thing I don't pay too much attention to that.....Guess I should change the zone in my profile here....

I have read all...with great amusement....and a couplwe of thoughts.

First, what is it you're trying to gerow that requires zone 9?

I'm in 8b (Murrells Inlet), and Charleston, an hour away is zone 9. Thre is a difference there in low temps in the winter.

For those in eastern NC, you're right...it may be a tad warmer there as you're so far into the ocean...but I'd again refer you to the sunset zone...and for that, the coast is in zone 31....the value of these descriptioons is that they deal with rainfall, extremes of seasons. If it's citrus, you may get away with it for a few years, but now and then a n extended deep freeze is going to wipe you out...and cause a lot of grief.unless, of course, you want to spend tose SCADS of $, and for that, I'd build an indoor solariouum!

jeff is right about the inherent flaw of the USDA zones...it doesn't address these differences...as they were originally created for agriculture and to give farmers guides to plant and harvest, not for gardeners to attempt to grow exotic plants!

I had a REALLY LONG, detailed post typed up to explain how the Zones work and why they're not really dependent on latitude last night, very late (like 3:30 a.m... was gonna be my last post of the night), just for you, Marsha... went to post it and I had lost my web connection (AOL was still running and I could see email and stuff, but not access websites -- ACK -- which ALSO meant I couldn't use the BACK button to go back and cut and paste all I had typed into an email to save it for later posting! That happens sometimes -- usually after I've typed such a detailed post -- and I just got angry and went to bed.

As I have a really early morning today, I'll repost that again tomorrow, maybe, as I still have it in my head and think some of you may find it of interest... Besides, I just KNOW if I try again now, just as I finish, I'll lose my connection again, lol.

Happy "Zoning" :)
Jeff

jeff
i've got a sign on the wall above my desk:
a guy with a hatchet raised above his head,
aiming at his keyboard ... caption reads:
"press any key to continue"
i feel your pain over losing a lengthy post you were so
kind to write.
marsha

Feel for you Jeff...it coulda been me...and now I 'm lookin forward to reading it

More than you wanna know about too much other than Zone Maps, but...

OK, well I'm gonna hit it again, then, but this time I opened a blank email, first... I can put it in that and if it fails on me and I can't get the posting page back, either, I can send myself the email... even if my net connection is broken and it won't send, I can just mark it to send later, then close the program and reboot and log back on it will still be there waiting to send, which won't be required, as I'll have the text in it to post on a freshly booted machine, lol... No more condolences for the lost post, please, by the way, that was one of several since I set up a wifi network, which got my internet connection "finicky" again (used to be a long time ago, then I got it running straight... never knew what, but time, fixed it)...

Anyway -- Zones, or Meteorology 0.19, based on how much I really know of the science, lol...

Most weather patterns follow prevailing winds, which are influenced by the jetstream coming over North America after thousands of miles of Pacific Ocean... Most of the time, this seems to sort of follow a pattern that gently slopes up to around the Canadian border on the Pacific Northwest, then sort of makes a steep dive for a ways and levels off for a bit across the middle of the country, before climbing again, steeply, near the Atlantic coast.

You can find Zone 7 all the way from Alaska to New York... an almost continuous band. Most of the other zones seem to follow similar patterns although the further to the extreme they are the more spotty they become, from what I see when I look at the zone map... It's like a map of how the jetstream flows over North America in a typical winter...

Now on those occasional winters when we have really deep freezes in the South or HARD freezes in the North, you sometimes hear about things like a "Canadian Chinook," I believe it's called... That's when the jetstream (for reasons I don't know -- don't know what the meteorologists know on this), makes an unexpected STEEP climb way high up into the Canadaian Arctic, then either a long extended sweep across the northern Midwest and the central and northern East, or makes a STEEP dive way down into the South and we get record temperatures in Zones 7, 8, 9 and sometimes 10 or 11.

All I know is what I've caught over the years from watching the weather, and also from assorted shows on The Weather Channel and Discovery Science, things like that... and I may have a detail wrong here and there, but I think I have this pretty straight... Not sure where hurricanes fit into this mix, but I think they're so big they're considered their own weather system, often a thousand miles wide...

I know that when some of the big hurricanes passed through last year a few hundred miles to the west, we got plenty of rain here, but little or no wind. I simply assumed it was outer bands from the same storm system that contained the hurricane, as if you watch them on TV you'll see smaller storms clustering around them sometimes... And also as they downgrade to tropical storm, then depression, there's no reason they can't get bigger, since there's no longer a rotating eye holding them together... bigger but less intense.

Here's the hurricane I think people should remember more than even Katrina... Mitch.

I don't recall the exact year, offhand, but it was just a few years back when Mitch was in the Gulf, then downgraded to first a tropical storm, then just a depression, and then just SAT on Honduras and POURED for a couple of days, raining more than 36"... Tens of thousands died in the mudslides... REMEMBER? I don't think they ever found a lot of the bodies, even... washed to sea or buried under tons of mud in the seaside...

Well this was a mountainous area, so that's how it went down there... but WHAT IF instead of doing what it did, Katrina had suddenly lost its "oomph" and gone to a depression and sat there and dumped 3 feet of rain? That would have been even worse, in a place like that...

Anyway, I got off the topic of Zones -- way off, lol.

The most IMPORTANT thing to know about a zone is that it's NOT a "guarantee," even if you don't push at all... They don't necessarily accept one extreme year out of 20 or 30 for the rating... they look more at how many years it gets to a certain temperature and which temperature that is most often and consider those, as well...

So if you had a 0 28 years ago, like we did here, which is Zone 7a, then why am I now in 7b according to USDA and 8a, according to Arbor Day? Probably because we haven't seen a temperature below 5, and very few below 10 in the past 20 years or so, and lows even below 15, even once for the year, are becoming increasingly rare... We're ALL risking a year when a freak Chinook event gives us 6b when we think we're 8a, but we just have to figure that's not likely, based on the pattern, and BE PREPARED just in case...

How do you prepare? Well, really about all you can do is mulch and maybe black plastic, which I'm NOT in favor of, as it could harbor fungus and whatnot and make the root zone TOO warm on mild, sunny winter days... Even though what I read on them says my colocasia would probably overwinter without mulch, I mulch them as soon as first frost kills them back and I cut them back... I mulch my angel trumpets that are in the ground, and took FOREVER to get going this year... Gonna have to work on that next year, I guess... still no blooms on them, but last year they bloomed very late -- October.

I recently deadheaded my two bigguns in the pots and will fertilize again tomorrow... try to get at least one more good flush out of 'em... They take about 5 gallons of water a day, each, I'd estimate... I think they need bigger pots. Hmmmm... Gee, wonder where I could find some?
:)

Looking for a clear, crisp black & white photo of a USDA hardiness zone map. Please direct me to a site.

The link below has the USDA map for your region by entering your zip code. Hope this helps.

http://www.garden.org/zipzone/index.php