How to find your garden's growing zone

Hi friends! Today I wanted to quickly go over how to find your garden's growing zone, or hardiness zone. It's super easy and a simple google search will give you the exact answer you're looking for.

First, what is a growing zone? The entire world is broken up into 13 different zones. The zones are determined by how cold the temperature gets, 1 being the coldest. For this post, I'm only going to be covering the united states since that's where I live.

Those 13 zones are also broken down into "a" and "b". For example, I garden in zone 5b which means the coldest temperature I can see on average in my area is -15*F. My parents who live 30 minutes away, garden in zone 5a which means their coldest temperature can be -20*F.

As you can see in the graphic, the US ranges from zones 1 - 12.

So what does this all mean? When you head to the garden center this spring, you might see "hardy to zone 5" on a plant tag. That means that plant can withstand the coldest temperatures in that zone. If it says "hardy to zone 5" it can handle temperatures all the way to -20*F. It would then be considered a perennial!

If the plant you choose says "hardy to zone 8" then you know it can only handle temperatures to 20*F so it most likely would not survive the winter if you live in a northern state. It would then be considered an annual.

How do you find your growing zone? Like I said earlier, a simple google search of "what is the growing zone for [enter your zip code] will give you the answer! I hope this clears up any confusion you have at the garden centers this spring. Happy planting!