It seems spring and winter are coming here later than they used to Angela Albany South Western corner of Western australia ----- Original Message ----- From: J.E. Shields <jshields@indy.net> To: Pacific Bulb Society <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org> Sent: Friday, October 28, 2005 9:52 PM Subject: Re: [pbs] Climate Zones. > John Bryan, Jaime, Roger, Lee, et al., > > To answer John's original question directly, yes, I believe that the USDA > cold zones are useful and should be retained. > > What to add to them is the problem. The American Hort. Society heat zones > would be a good start. Then add in maps of annual rainfall. > > That is a start. Nothing will make decisions about growing 100% foolproof > for novice gardeners, and nothing will keep old hands from experimenting. > > Besides nighttime minimum temperatures for the AHS heat zones, one needs to > add local effects for urban islands of heat. I live 25 miles from the > center of a medium-large sized urban agglomeration. We are routinely 2 to > 5 degrees F cooler than in the city, summer and winter. > > But you should hurry John, because it looks like the climate is changing > and the existing tables will become obsolete in a few more years. Spring > is coming a week to 10 days earlier now than it did 25 years ago. > > Jim Shields > in central Indiana > USDA cold zone 5 > AHS heat zone 6 > 40 inches of precipitation per year > > > At 09:49 AM 10/28/2005 +0200, you wrote: > >Ahh, Roger, > > > >hard but true words! We are always seeking a simple solution to the > >complexities of life. I didn't realize that the Arnold Arboretum (a truly > >wonderful place to visit!) was behind the original Zones. > >......... > >In the end, Zones are nothing but a guideline and one must not only know his > >local conditions, but understand them as well! > > > >Jamie Vande > >Cologne > >Germany > > ************************************************* > Jim Shields USDA Zone 5 Shields Gardens, Ltd. > P.O. Box 92 WWW: http://www.shieldsgardens.com/ > Westfield, Indiana 46074, USA > Tel. ++1-317-867-3344 or toll-free 1-866-449-3344 in USA > > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php >