Hello, My zone in Philly is zone 9 and it gets very cold almost as cold as Connecticut and there are areas in Northern Jersey that feel as if we are in the North Pole. I guess one must use common sense, so I bring in most of my plants, just in case Chris. -----Original Message----- From: pbs-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:pbs-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Judy Glattstein Sent: Thursday, February 12, 2009 11:18 PM To: pbs@lists.ibiblio.org Subject: [pbs] Bananas in New jersey / I Don't Trust Zone Maps Adam Fikso wrote: "Judging from the USDA zone map, you seem to be Zone 6b." I don't believe the USDA zone maps. They rely on winter low temperature and disregard everything else, even duration of cold. By their estimation, a location that dips down to 25 degrees Fahrenheit and stays below freezing for a week or longer is in the same zone as a place that reaches that low temperature but rises above freezing in the daytime. What nonsense. Going back better than a decade - my garden in Wilton, Connecticut had that gardener's holy grail of high organic soil, moist but well drained. I grew Amaryllis belladona outdoors, year round, (under roof overhang, I admit) and it flowered reliably. Cyclamen coum reseeded prolifically. My New Jersey garden is south of that, but it has a clay-based soil and is on the shady side of the street. There are plants that don't like it here, that would have thrived in Connecticut. Would that Sunset magazine would develop their incredible zone system for the American West to cover country-wide. (I did once write and ask if they'd consider publishing Sunrise, the magazine of Eastern living. Never got an answer.) Judy in New Jersey where the ferocious winds have been howling all day, shaking the trees and littering the place with downed branches _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.ibiblio.org http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/