New USDA cold hardiness zone map

jwmahloch · 12-10-2009, 05:59 PM

I heard that the USDA is supposed to be releasing an updated zone map soon that will utilize temperture data from 1990 to 2009. The more recent official map is the 1990 version of the map which in my opinion is not accurate. There is a 2003 map that the arbor day foundation released but it is not offical and doesnt break down each zone into a and b.

I read that the Bush Administration pulled the 2003 map and did not allow its release because they did not want it to show that the country was warming. The republicans are basically denying that global warming exists.

Does anyone know when the new USDA zone maps are expected to be released?

Seaner · 12-10-2009, 07:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jwmahloch

Does anyone know when the new USDA zone maps are expected to be released?

No, but thanks for the info! I'll Def be watching for info on that!

Richard · 12-10-2009, 08:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jwmahloch

... I read that the Bush Administration pulled the 2003 map and did not allow its release ... The republicans are basically denying that global warming exists. ...

As a spokesperson for Newt Gingrich, Sarah Palin has definitely started singing that song. But then there are a few moderate Republican politicians who feel differently. In discussing the California environment our governor recently said "Palin has her head in the sand."

jwmahloch · 12-10-2009, 08:18 PM

Palin is a freek and she should go away!!!!!! I am a liberal democrat and I live in Missouri (a republican state). This thread is not really supposed to be about politics but it makes sense why there hasnt been a new version of the USDA hardiness zone map in almost 20 years. The republicans are in denial about global warming.

Last I heard is that the new maps are supposed to come out sometime in 2010 and that the Prizim Group in Oregon is contracted with the USDA to develop the new maps. The new maps are supposed to be much more detailed and will include microclimates around cities.

turtile · 12-10-2009, 08:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jwmahloch

Last I heard is that the new maps are supposed to come out sometime in 2010 and that the Prizim Group in Oregon is contracted with the USDA to develop the new maps. The new maps are supposed to be much more detailed and will include microclimates around cities.

I think one huge problem with making new zone maps is the fact that some plants are rated as hardy if they survive in the zone (old map) they are growing. One example of this is Trachycarpus fortunei (Windmill palm). While it is labeled as hardy to Zone 7, it is still borderline in my area and needs a microclimate to survive during normal winters. With a revised new map, I'll be pushed into the Zone 7b/8a border. Stores will begin selling Zone 8 (well, they already are) plants here which won't make it long term.

Blake09 · 12-10-2009, 08:53 PM

Well I cant find the 2010 map yet but I found the 2006 map:

The Arbor Day Foundation

And the changes from 1990 to 2006:

The Arbor Day Foundation

Patty in Wisc · 12-10-2009, 09:24 PM

I had this in my bookmarks. I do remember a new map showed all zones with A or B - maybe '02?. I'm zone 5 but it changed to zone 5B (b being warmer than a). Then they changed it back to just using the zone #. In this link it shows newest zone map from '06. Read up
SPS Climate
here's a good one:
The Arbor Day Foundation

Patty in Wisc · 12-10-2009, 09:25 PM

Well darn, you just beat me LOL

Abnshrek · 12-10-2009, 10:05 PM

I don't believe being a republican, Democrat, or Liberal.. A Conservative, Moderate or Liberal.. Right-Wing or Left-Wing has anything to do with any Map or Anyone being in denial. If anything it has to do with how can Business's sell more plant products that are bound to fail when weather can't support them long-term.

LilRaverBoi · 12-10-2009, 11:50 PM

LOL...what a surprise! Iowa is still zone 5...go figure

They should just draw a line when it gets to 6a or so and beyond and write 'COLD AS HELL.'

Eh...who cares anyway...I'm still gonna be growing tropicals my whole life in Iowa. Cold never stopped me yet! I guess a change in climate for you zone 7+ people can make a pretty big difference on what you can overwinter and what protection it requires. However, for us people up farther north, these changes don't really affect the way we do things at all.

sbl · 12-11-2009, 06:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patty in Wisc

I had this in my bookmarks. I do remember a new map showed all zones with A or B - maybe '02?. I'm zone 5 but it changed to zone 5B (b being warmer than a). Then they changed it back to just using the zone #. In this link it shows newest zone map from '06. Read up
SPS Climate
here's a good one:
The Arbor Day Foundation

It is interesting to look at the map of zone changes--it looks like ripples in the sand, but I guess that is understandable that the warmer half of each zone would see the change first. It is also surprising that parts of the mountain west got colder.

Taylor · 12-11-2009, 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jwmahloch

I read that the Bush Administration pulled the 2003 map and did not allow its release because they did not want it to show that the country was warming. The republicans are basically denying that global warming exists.

I'd like to take this opportunity to clarify your vastly incorrect statement quoted above since I try to research what I'm talking about before I trash-talk others.

I found the ONE website that mentions the Bush Administration as playing a role in the rejection of the 2003 map. In the very same sentence of the very same paragraph of the article, it says:

Quote:

Some observers suggested that the Bush administration pulled the map because it showed the nation warming, but Kaplan calls that idea an urban myth. “There was no memo from the White House,” she says. “The draft was rejected because it wasn’t web-friendly and wasn’t layered in a standard GIS format. The data were never reviewed – formatting and technology issues got it bounced.”

Both the 1990 map and the aborted 2003 version are unreliable because they use too little data to show lasting trends, Avent contends. “The first time they got a cold data set and the second time they got a warm data set,” he says.

The article is found here: Climate change comes to your backyard ? The Daily Climate

Now, from further research, please read this excerpt from Wikipedia about the rejected map and other updates:

Quote:

Updates
Differences between 1990 USDA hardiness zones and 2006 arborday.org hardiness zones reflect warmer climate

In 2003, a preliminary draft of a new USDA map was produced by the American Horticultural Society (AHS), compiled by Meteorological Evaluation Services Co., Inc. of Amityville, NY, using temperature data collected from July 1986 to March 2002. This was a period of warmer winters than the 1974-1986 period, especially in the eastern U.S.A., and thus the 2003 map placed many areas approximately a half-zone higher (warmer) than the 1990 map had. Many have noted that the map seemed to have drifted closer to the original 1960 map in its overall zone-delineations. While the 2003 AHS draft map purported to show finer detail, for example reflecting urban heat islands by showing the downtown areas of several cities (e.g., Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, DC) as a full zone warmer than outlying areas, the map also did away with the detailed a/b half-zones introduced in the 1990 map, an omission widely criticized by horticulturists and gardeners due to the coarseness of the resulting map. The USDA rejected the AHS 2003 draft map; the agency has stated it is creating its own internal map in an interactive computer format. As of May 2009 the AHS and the National Arboretum websites still present the 1990 map as current.

In addition, the National Arbor Day Foundation in the United States recently completed an extensive updating of U.S. Hardiness Zones in 2006, utilizing essentially the same data used by the AHS, the then-most-recent 15 years’ data available from more than 5,000 National Climatic Data Center cooperative stations across the United States. Once the Foundation analyzed the new data, hardiness zones were revised, generally reflecting warmer recent temperatures in many parts of the country. The Arbor Day Foundation used the updated versions of the same sources of data as had been utilized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in the creation of its hardiness zone maps. The 2006 map appears to validate the data used in the 2003 draft completed by the AHS. Like the AHS map, it also did away with the more detailed a/b half-zone delineations.[2]

The Wikipedia page for the above quote can be found here: Hardiness zone - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Patty in Wisc · 12-11-2009, 09:02 PM

Yeah SBL, the 2nd link I posted shows places that are warmer, same, & some places that are colder.

12-10-2009, 05:59 PM	#1 (permalink)
jwmahloch jwmahloch's Photo Gallery Location: St. Charles, Missouri Find me on the map! Zone: 6 - 7 Name: Jeremy Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 217 BananaBucks : 64,117 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 0 Times Was Thanked 120 Times in 64 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 3 Times	New USDA cold hardiness zone map I heard that the USDA is supposed to be releasing an updated zone map soon that will utilize temperture data from 1990 to 2009. The more recent official map is the 1990 version of the map which in my opinion is not accurate. There is a 2003 map that the arbor day foundation released but it is not offical and doesnt break down each zone into a and b. I read that the Bush Administration pulled the 2003 map and did not allow its release because they did not want it to show that the country was warming. The republicans are basically denying that global warming exists. Does anyone know when the new USDA zone maps are expected to be released? __________________ Jeremy

12-10-2009, 08:18 PM	#4 (permalink)
jwmahloch jwmahloch's Photo Gallery Location: St. Charles, Missouri Find me on the map! Zone: 6 - 7 Name: Jeremy Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 217 BananaBucks : 64,117 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 0 Times Was Thanked 120 Times in 64 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 3 Times	Re: New USDA cold hardiness zone map Palin is a freek and she should go away!!!!!! I am a liberal democrat and I live in Missouri (a republican state). This thread is not really supposed to be about politics but it makes sense why there hasnt been a new version of the USDA hardiness zone map in almost 20 years. The republicans are in denial about global warming. Last I heard is that the new maps are supposed to come out sometime in 2010 and that the Prizim Group in Oregon is contracted with the USDA to develop the new maps. The new maps are supposed to be much more detailed and will include microclimates around cities. __________________ Jeremy

12-10-2009, 08:53 PM	#6 (permalink)
Blake09 Blake09 's Photo Gallery Find me on the map! Zone: Zone 7B Name: Blake Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 1,237 BananaBucks : 113,018 Feedback: 2 / 100% Said "Thanks" 1,424 Times Was Thanked 1,105 Times in 448 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 328 Times	Re: New USDA cold hardiness zone map Well I cant find the 2010 map yet but I found the 2006 map: The Arbor Day Foundation And the changes from 1990 to 2006: The Arbor Day Foundation __________________ A banana plant in the autumn gale - I listen to the dripping of rain Into a basin at night. ~ Basho Matsuo (1644- 1694) Last edited by Blake09 : 12-10-2009 at 09:15 PM.

12-10-2009, 09:24 PM	#7 (permalink)
Patty in Wisc tropical nut Patty in Wisc's Photo Gallery Zone: 5 Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 3,115 BananaBucks : 346,284 Feedback: 1 / 100% Said "Thanks" 2,946 Times Was Thanked 2,510 Times in 1,203 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 69 Times	Re: New USDA cold hardiness zone map I had this in my bookmarks. I do remember a new map showed all zones with A or B - maybe '02?. I'm zone 5 but it changed to zone 5B (b being warmer than a). Then they changed it back to just using the zone #. In this link it shows newest zone map from '06. Read up SPS Climate here's a good one: The Arbor Day Foundation __________________ Got a lite? Patty ____ Patty in Wisc has sadly passed away 9/05/11. We will miss you Patty. Last edited by Patty in Wisc : 12-10-2009 at 09:34 PM.

12-10-2009, 09:25 PM	#8 (permalink)
Patty in Wisc tropical nut Patty in Wisc's Photo Gallery Zone: 5 Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 3,115 BananaBucks : 346,284 Feedback: 1 / 100% Said "Thanks" 2,946 Times Was Thanked 2,510 Times in 1,203 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 69 Times	Re: New USDA cold hardiness zone map Well darn, you just beat me LOL __________________ Got a lite? Patty ____ Patty in Wisc has sadly passed away 9/05/11. We will miss you Patty.

Members currently in the chatroom: 0
	The most chatters online in one day was 17, 09-06-2009. No one is currently using the chat.

12-10-2009, 10:05 PM	#9 (permalink)
Abnshrek Happy Growing Abnshrek 's Photo Gallery Location: Beaumont Texas Find me on the map! Zone: 8b, but 9b weather.. Name: Migael / Michael Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 9,493 BananaBucks : 213,136 Feedback: 45 / 100% Said "Thanks" 10,447 Times Was Thanked 16,443 Times in 5,238 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 2,318 Times	Re: New USDA cold hardiness zone map I don't believe being a republican, Democrat, or Liberal.. A Conservative, Moderate or Liberal.. Right-Wing or Left-Wing has anything to do with any Map or Anyone being in denial. If anything it has to do with how can Business's sell more plant products that are bound to fail when weather can't support them long-term. __________________ I'm a Nannerhead :^)

12-10-2009, 11:50 PM	#10 (permalink)
LilRaverBoi Nanner Time! LilRaverBoi's Photo Gallery Location: Cedar Rapids, IA Find me on the map! Zone: 5 Name: Bryan Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 2,937 BananaBucks : 118,820 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 534 Times Was Thanked 2,243 Times in 1,245 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 855 Times	Re: New USDA cold hardiness zone map LOL...what a surprise! Iowa is still zone 5...go figure They should just draw a line when it gets to 6a or so and beyond and write 'COLD AS HELL.' Eh...who cares anyway...I'm still gonna be growing tropicals my whole life in Iowa. Cold never stopped me yet! I guess a change in climate for you zone 7+ people can make a pretty big difference on what you can overwinter and what protection it requires. However, for us people up farther north, these changes don't really affect the way we do things at all. __________________ BANANA RAVE! Feel the beat from start to stop, dancin' and movin' from bottom to top! lilraverboi@genxglow.com RIP Tog Tan. We love you and will always remember you! I'm Bryan with a Y! There is no 'I' in BRYAN!

12-11-2009, 09:02 PM	#13 (permalink)
Patty in Wisc tropical nut Patty in Wisc's Photo Gallery Zone: 5 Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 3,115 BananaBucks : 346,284 Feedback: 1 / 100% Said "Thanks" 2,946 Times Was Thanked 2,510 Times in 1,203 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 69 Times	Re: New USDA cold hardiness zone map Yeah SBL, the 2nd link I posted shows places that are warmer, same, & some places that are colder. __________________ Got a lite? Patty ____ Patty in Wisc has sadly passed away 9/05/11. We will miss you Patty.

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Desert Cold Hardiness testing	Chironex	Cold Hardy Bananas	2	10-16-2008 03:56 PM
White Sapote hardy in usda zone 8a ?	Richard	Other Plants	5	03-21-2008 11:15 AM
Zone 6 hardiness	2pugdogs	Cold Hardy Bananas	9	02-26-2008 07:46 PM
Zone 6 and 7 hardiness list??	aroidgrower	Cold Hardy Bananas	4	07-06-2007 07:37 PM
Golden Lotus - Cold Hardiness	BobbyinNY	Main Banana Discussion	4	10-20-2005 01:25 AM