Do You Know What Your New USDA Garden Zone Is?

In 2023 the USDA revised their plant hardiness map to keep pace with changing average temperatures in the United States. This means you likely have a new hardiness zone! This will affect not only what you can plant but also when you plant and how long you can keep your garden going.

Plants that thrive in one zone may struggle in another. If you’ve always had luck with a particular crop and now it’s struggling, make sure your zone is not the problem. And if there’s something you’ve always wished you could plant, maybe you can now!

USDA Garden Zone helps you pick what to plant

My husband and I have noticed the effects of these warmer temperatures in our own area. Trees that have previously thrived in our neighborhood have been struggling to survive the hot, dry summers.

When we lost both a hackberry and an ash tree, we knew we wanted to make sure the replacements we put in would be able to thrive without a lot of help from us. We consulted with our arborist and he suggested we plant trees that traditionally have grown well farther south of us. We decided to go with a cedar elm and so far it thriving.

Find Your New Zone

The USDAs plant hardiness map is calculated using the average low temperatures from the past thirty years. That has now shifted, so if you haven’t looked up your zone for a while, double check it to make sure you know what it is! You can check your zone on the USDA’s site by clicking here.

The map is super easy to use. Just put your zip code in the search bar at the top and select your location from the drop down menu. When I put my zip code in it tells me that on the old map we were zone 8b, but now we are zone 9a with an average cold temperature of 20-25 degrees.

What Can You Plant Now?

Knowing what your new zone is will help you understand when to plant in your garden. I have monthly guides to help you know what you can start in your garden right now.

Each post gives you a list of options you can start planting for each zone, or if it’s too hot or cold to plant for your zone.

It can be hard to keep straight when to plant what and having it in an easy to reference place is really helpful for me.

What To Plant In January
What To Plant In February
What To Plant In March
What To Plant In April
What To Plant In May
What To Plant In June
What To Plant In July
What To Plant In August
What To Plant In September
What To Plant In October
What To Plant In November
What To Plant In December

I hope you are able to adapt well to your new USDA Plant Hardiness Zone and happy planting!