Hardiness zones adapt to climate change?

Wed, Feb 2, 2011

Climate Change Gardening

fatsia-017

What defines the “hardiness” of a plant?

If you define hardiness as “a plant’s ability to survive  in adverse conditions” then the lowest temperature of an area –  traditionally used as a bench-mark in the UK – is not the only factor which needs to be taken into account .

There are a host of other influences that must be considered, especially as the climate changes:

* Recording the number of days when high summer temperatures occur is a key factor affecting whether a plant can survive and will become even more crucial if the planet heats up as predicted. A Heat Zone system has been devised by the American Horticultural Association based on the number of days an area has when the temperatures reaches at least 86F (30c)http://www.ahs.org/publications/heat_zone_map.htm

* Day-length, the angle of the sun and brightness of the light, are as important as the temperature.If you live in the States then check out this site to find your Sunset Climate Zone./http://www.sunset.com/garden/climate-zones/climate-zones-intro-us-map-00400000036421/

* The type of soil, its ability or inability to release nutrients, or to drain, or to allow roots to penetrate to sufficient depth.

*The level of rainfall, and when it falls, is vital. In the US, drought is a problem in hotter areas in particular. In Northern Europe, it is often not the lack of water but an excess, especially if it is accompanied by cold spells, that affect a plant’s survival.

*Shelter, in a larger area as provided by hills and mountains or more locally by buildings, walls and trees, can affect what can be grown. Towns and cities are usually a few degrees warmer than rural areas. Frosts can be preceeded by snow which provides protective insulation for plants; frost before snow, especially if it is accompanied by drying winds, can damage plants. An overnight frost on a calm night can be harmless; a prolonged frost can prove fatal. Northern and eastern winds, or salt-laden winds from the sea, can be disastrous.

sun on bananna leaf

UK hardiness zones will most certainly need to be re-evaluated in the future. Maybe they will have to follow the States and incorporate the fact that the UK now experiences many more summer days when the temperature rises above 30c ? Or winter days like in 2010/11 when temperatures dropped to below -12 in some parts of the coutry for many days.

Does anyone know who decides – is it the RHS or the Met Office?

Take a look at the current hardiness zone map of the UK at http://www.trebrown.com/hrdzone.html

Hardiness is one of the most crucial subjects for climate change gardening.

Wikipedia has excellent information on defining hardiness and hardiness zones:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardiness_(plants))

I will be visiting this fascinating issue again so keep posting your comments and personal experiences.

This post was written by:

- who has written 872 posts on My Climate Change Garden.

I am not an experienced gardener - more of an enthusiastic amateur who learns by trial and error and who is keen to "manage" the effects of shifting weather patterns on my garden. Writing this blog is my passion and it has evolved over 12 years to inspire engagement with climate change outside our back doors, in our personal gardens and green spaces. My mission is to fertilise and expand this platform to grow a community of global gardeners communicating about the effects of climate change on our plants and exploring how each individual can make small changes in our lives to become more sustainable. The future of our gardens and #OurPlanet is in our hands - please plant your own seeds for our collective sustainable future.

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1 Comments For This Post

  1. Nell Jean Says:

    One of my favorite subjects! Hardiness zones in the US tell you nothing about how plants will fare in summer. Hard freezes here are sporadic and freezing is usually in the wee hours of the morning, warming to above freezing when the sun comes up. Plants that easily stand our winter cold will melt out in summer when the temperatures are over 100 degrees and the humidity so high it is tiresome to breathe.

    I am in zone 8b in the subtropical lower South US. Zone 8b here is unlike zone 8b in the drier Southwestern states and our summers are really different from the Pacific Northwest where it is cooler.

    I look forward to your thoughts on Hardiness Zones.