USDA Hardiness Map (Click map for full view) |
This month we'll travel to USDA hardiness zones 6a, 7, 9a (Sunset Zone 15), 9b, and Sunset Zone 2. The whole hardiness zone business can be quite confusing, so let's take a quick look at what's involved.
Our Mystery Flower This Month Plant: Tree |
The USDA map at right focuses on temperature and tells you only where a plant may survive the winter. Sunset zones (devised by Sunset Magazine) consider other important factors as well, including latitude, elevation, ocean influence, mountains, hills, and valleys. Because the geography of the West Coast is so variable, such additional information is of great value. The zone numbers run from harshest (Zone 1) to mildest (Zone 45). Click here to get an idea of how all these zones look on a map.
Here is a sampling of the beautiful and exotic plants our readers have blooming this month.
Gardeners |
Flowers |
|
Lin Zone 9b |
Weeping Bottlebrush |
Hibiscus |
Lin Zone 9b |
Plumbago |
White Periwinkle |
Lin Zone 9b |
Pagoda Flower |
Star Jasmine |
Lin Zone 9b |
Pink Periwinkle |
Pentas |
Lin Zone 9b |
Phalaenopsis Orchid |
Laelia Orchid |
Lin Zone 9b
|
Brassavola Orchid |
Streptocarpus |
Sherry Sunset Zone 2 Sue Zone 9a |
Salvia 'Indigo Spires' |
Rose 'Louise Clements' |
Sue Zone 9a |
Rose 'Vesper' |
Rose 'Cafe' |
Sue Zone 9a |
Bidens 'Goldilocks Rocks' |
Bacopa |
Sue Zone 9a |
Helichrysum 'Monster Fireball' |
Pansy 'Frizzle Sizzle Mix' |
Tarev Zone 7a |
Schlumbergera hybrid |
Amaryllis |
Tarev Zone 7a |
Amaryllis in full bloom |
Gaillardia |
Tarev Zone 7a |
Mandevilla |
Pilea 'Moon Valley' |
The article thumbnail is courtesy of Allison (Onewish1) who gardens in Zone 6a and still had some mums blooming in December. |
MYSTERY BLOSSOM FOR JANUARY | |
CONTEST DEADLINE IS FEBRUARY 5, 2012 |
HOW TO ENTER THE NAME THAT BLOOM CONTEST Scroll down to the forum at the end of this article. Click on the thread, "January Contest Entries." Enter the name of the plant at left, either one of its common names or its botanical name (genus and species). It's important to include its cultivar name, which appears in single quotes when it's cited. The contest thread should appear shortly after publication of this article. The winner gets to select a photo of a blooming plant from her/his garden, to be published in next month's What's Blooming article, along with a brief interview. <><><><><><><><><> ABOUT COTTAGE-IN-THE-MEADOW GARDENS Cottage-in-the-Meadow Gardens, owned by Larry and Wilma Rettig, South Amana, Iowa, has been featured in local and national publications, on the Internet, and is listed with the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., as a national heritage garden. Larry and Wilma grow over 300 varieties of flowers, trees, shrubs, and vegetables. Since 1986, they have maintained a seed bank that preserves vegetable varieties brought from Germany to the Amana Villages during the 1850s. |
Thread Title | Last Reply | Replies |
---|---|---|
Show us what's blooming in your garden, indoors or out! by LarryR | Jan 23, 2012 4:46 PM | 3 |
Climate change! by crittergarden | Jan 22, 2012 8:23 PM | 1 |
Where to find January Contest Entries by plantladylin | Jan 21, 2012 11:45 AM | 9 |
We have a winner by LarryR | Jan 16, 2012 10:33 PM | 0 |