Welcome to The Herb Cottage

Purple Basil The Herb Cottage Website is your source for information about herb growing and gardening, with an emphasis on growing and gardening in the humid south where winters are mild and summers are very hot and humid with the occasional hurricane or drenching rain. As with many parts of the country, the weather seems to have become more extreme, and as gardeners, we have to learn to do our best to cope with the weather. We sure can't change it!!

The United States is divided into 11 "cold hardiness zones". The zones are divided by 10 degree Farenheit differences in the average minimum temperature. The lower the number, the colder your area.

Seed Packets and many plant tags give a range where the particular plant will do well. Use the map below to find your Planting Zone. This will help you choose the right plants for your area.

Here is information on Heat Zones and a map that shows heat rather than cold hardiness zones.

January 30, 2012

Just last week, the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) released a new Cold Hardiness Zone Map. The map has not been updated since 1990. The new map offers a Geographic Information System (GIS)-based interactive format and is specifically designed to be Internet-friendly. The map website also incorporates a "find your zone by ZIP code" function. Static images of national, regional and state maps have also been included.

"This is the most sophisticated Plant Hardiness Zone Map yet for the United States," said Dr. Catherine Woteki, USDA Under Secretary for Research, Education and Economics. "The increases in accuracy and detail that this map represents will be extremely useful for gardeners and researchers."

USDA Map

For the larger map and all the functions, here's a link: http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb/#

 

EUROPE

Europe Hardiness Zones

USDA Zone

Low Temperature Range

5

-20 to -15 F
(-26.2 to -28.8 C)

6

-10 to -5 F
(-20.6 to -23.3 C)

7

0 to 5 F
(-15.0 to -17.7 C)

8

10 to 15 F
(-9.5 to -12.2 C)

9

20 to 25 F
(-3.9 to -6.6 C)

10

30 to 35 F
(1.6 to -1.1 C)

Here is information on Heat Zones and a map that shows heat rather than cold hardiness zones.