USDA growing zones are important for figuring out what to plant and when in your area. However, with recent changes, what you can plant may have changed, too.

The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map consists of 13 individual zones that take in all of the contiguous United States, plus Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. The first zone lies at the coldest and ...

A hardiness zone is a geographic area with a similar average minimum temperature. The map is based on the average annual extreme minimum temperature, so people in those areas know which plants can ...