Hardiness zones and planting times

Posts

• edhelka Posts: 2,351

  August 2020

  It depends on the plant and your location (microclimate). Generally, zone 9 are coastal areas with milder winter and cooler summer (probably not in the south). So yes to planting or sowing sooner but not necessarily harvesting quicker. But USDA zones are not much useful here, it's better to check your last frost date, this tells you much more than the lowest winter temperature.
  

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• Obelixx Posts: 30,090

  August 2020

  Agree.   Which side of the country you're on, how much shelter, the kind of soil and how much rain you get will all be much more important than a vague notion of zones which can be relevant in large continents but not a small country with so much coastline, a Gulf Stream and varied soils and rainfall.
  
  What are hoping to grow and will it be an allotment, back garden, soil, raised beds, pots, greenhouse, polytunnel and roughly where are you? 

  Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
  

  "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."

  Plato
  

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• Skandi Posts: 1,723

  August 2020

  Hardiness zone tells you one thing and one thing only, it only tells you the coldest temerature in winter. It tells you nothing about how warm you get in summer or when last frost dates are likely to be. unless you are looking for information on whether a perennial plant will survive the winter they can be totally ignored. For example penzance and the isle of lewis are both zone 9.. but you can't grow the same things or at the same time!
  

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