A map that indicates plant hardiness has been updated and released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chautauqua County’s Master Gardener Program said the last time the map was updated was in 2012.
An average of 30 years lowest degrees were used to update the map.
When the map was published in 2012, information from a total of 7,893 weather stations during the years of 1976 to 2005 were used. The 2023 map is from the culmination of 13,412 weather stations from 1991 to 2020.
The map is divided into 13 zones of 10 degrees each. These zones are divided in half by 5 degrees.
The map shows an average increase of 2.5 degrees across contiguous United States. Although there was a higher increase in the Midwest than there was in the Southeast.
Locally, most of Chautauqua County is now Zone 6 with some Zone 5 south of I-86. The shoreline of Lake Erie is now Zone 7.
The Plant Hardiness Map is extremely important to gardeners and growers as they use the map to determine what perennials are best grown in their location.
With a warmer temperate shift, Master Gardeners said gardeners may have noticed or will notice an increase in invasive species, including garden pests and aggressive weeds.
For questions about your garden, identification, or issue, call the help line at 716-664-9502, email chautauquamg@cornell.edu, or visit the Jamestown Community College Carnahan Center on Wednesdays from noon to 2:00 p.m. during the growing season. Garden experts will review your request and set you in the right direction. Also, as an extra bonus if you bring in a soil sample our garden team will test for PH. PH is important for the adsorption of nutrients in your soil.
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