Your Guide to Plant Hardiness Zones

Temperature

Heat – Increased temperatures can negatively affect seed germination and plant growth while causing other plants to grow faster. Extreme temperatures can create heat stress causing permanent damage to plant development.

Level of Humidity – Too much humidity interferes with a plant’s ability to evaporate water or draw nutrients from the soil while increasing the likelihood of pests and diseases.

Vernalization – This is the particular duration of low temperatures. Some flowering plants need a certain amount of cold ‘hibernation’ in order to jump start the flowering process.

Water

Moisture – Too much water can rot the roots of a plant impeding the plant’s ability to draw oxygen from the soil. Not enough water reduces the plant’s capacity for pulling nutrients from the soil.

Frost – Without accompanying snow cover, frost descends deep in to the soil. Extended periods of unrelenting frost can destroy plan-needed nutrients and organisms to the depth of the frost

Snow Cover – Constant snow cover restricts the depth of the frost layer, allowing plants and other organisms to survive below the surface. It also prevents wind and water erosion.

Light

Length of daylight – Photoperiodism is the reaction and development of a plant to the length of light and darkness it experiences. It is important to understand your plant and crop requirements. Long-Day plants (LD) require over twelve hours of sunlight, Short-Day plants (SD) require less than twelve hours of sunlight and Day-Neutral plants (DN) do not rely on specific daylight amounts, instead developing in stages, by age, or by vernalization.

Soil pH

pH in soil – The measure of acidity affects available nutrients in soil. As nutrient absorption is necessary for plants to thrive, an improper pH balance, either too acidic or too alkaline, can detrimentally affect growth and production.

Other Factors

Microclimates – A smaller climate zone within a climate zone based on atmospheric differences. Detailed description below.

Wind – Slight winds can have a positive plant benefit by strengthening root systems. Persistent strong winds can cause breakage and uprooting of plants. Wind chill, effectively creating a colder overall temperature, can also be detrimental to plants, stunting their ability to produce.