Plant Hardiness Zones In The USA

Choose roses suitable for the climate you live in with the help of USDA plant hardiness zones

Many of us have already tried to grow exactly that beautiful rose which will never thrive properly in our environment. We have turned our inside out to keep it alive.

We have protected the plant from too much sun, covered it in freezing cold winters, fostered and nourished it like a baby and yes, it has shown her beauty for few times.

However, growing roses should be an easy experience. For that reason, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) developed a map that will help us to choose plants, and of course roses, fitting to the climate you live in.

What Are Plant Hardiness Zones?

Based on the lowest recorded temperatures during a 30-year period in the past in each area of the USA, the map allows us to find suitable roses hardy to your particular growing zone.

North  America  is divided into 13 separate zones and good rose nurseries will always provide the hardiness zone in the plant description.

In the USA, zone 1 in Alaska will be the coldest area with lowest average temperatures from -50°F through -60°F.

In ascending order, each zone will be 10°F warmer in average than the adjacent zone.

The hot end is zone 13, with lowest average temperatures from 60°F through 70°F in Hawaii or Puerto Rico.

Finding Your Climate Zone

The United States Department of Agriculture provides an useful tool and a map on their website, where you simply type in a Zip Code to find your plant hardiness zone.

Keep in mind, especially for the colder regions, that the temperatures are the lowest average temperatures in your area, not the lowest that occurred or will occur in future.

Although you will know your zone now, it does not mean the climate is exactly what the zone map will suggest.

Cool places or hot spots, sometimes man-made caused by building materials like concrete or shady, colder areas caused by hills and valleys will generate microclimates in your garden that may differ from the general zone surrounding your area.

A plant hardiness zones map cannot replace the detailed knowledge rosarians will have from their garden.

In general, the map will help you to choose the right plant for the overall climate zone in your area. Be sure to read the description or the label on the plant, before you order a flower that will not survive the next cold winter.