Hardiness Zone Map: Stay Tuned

The San Francisco Chronicle tells the story of the latest Zone Hardiness Map, the map the USDA puts out to guide the nation in what plants will grow where. The latest updated map was based on a 15 year set of data and looked quite different from the one before. in particular, zones were shifted north. So, why did the USDA reject the draft map in 2003? An official statement from USDA: “It wasn’t GIS/GPS compatible. The scientists said it couldn’t be incorporated into existing models. The ‘yes or no’ decision was made at that point, even though other issues were being raised.”

In reality it sounds like politics and perhaps a fear of global warming. The latest plan: a new group from the Oregon St will build a new map based on 30 years of data. It’s expected…soon. Says the same spokesperson as the above quote: ” “Doing this at the GIS level, we can work at a much finer scale than ever before,” she explains. “The zone borders will be much more refined.”

You can see the maps here.