Sunset Zones versus USDA Zones
Gardeners
in the western United States sometimes are confused when confronted with
the 11 Hardiness Zones created by the USDA (United States Department of
Agriculture), because they are used to a 24-zone climate system created 40
years ago by Sunset Magazine. The Sunset zone maps, which cover 13 Western
states, are much more precise than the USDA's, since they factor in not only
winter minimum temperatures, but also summer highs, lengths of growing seasons,
humidity, and rainfall patterns to provide a more accurate picture of what
will grow there.
If you live in the western U.S., you'll find that nurseries, garden centers,
and other western gardeners usually refer to the Sunset climate zones rather
than the USDA plant hardiness zones. In fact, the Sunset zones and maps are
what are listed for each plant in Sunset's Western Garden Book and Western
Garden CD-ROM, which are considered the standard gardening references in
the West.
However,
the USDA zones are still of importance to western gardeners, since the USDA
zones are used in the rest of the country. When you order plants from catalogs
or read general garden books, you need to know your USDA zone in order to
be able to interpret references correctly.
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