Where you live is the ultimate factor in knowing what kinds of plants you can grow. Understanding your local climate as a way to create a better garden, lawn and landscaping is the reasoning behind the USDA Hardiness Zones. If you haven’t heard of hardiness zones, you may have heard of this system by other nicknames such as plant zones, climate zones, growing zones, or planting zones. No matter what you call them, if you love to garden or landscape, you need to know what zone you live in.
The USDA system was originally developed to aid gardeners and landscapers in the United States. Hardiness zones are based on how cold it gets in an area, which helps you choose plants that you know can survive certain temperatures. State-by-state maps, along with an electronic system that allows finding the zone for a particular zip code, can be found at the USDA Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) website.
If you live in or near Visalia, CA, for most of the area the Hardiness Zone is 9B. However, smaller portions of Kings County and Tulare County also have microclimates with Hardiness Zones 9A, 10A, 10B, and in very small areas 6A, 6B, 7A and 7B. You can follow the link above to the official USDA website and use the interactive map to pinpoint what your exact zone is.
As a general rule, you should be able to grow any plants rated for your zone or less. For example, Visalia is Hardiness Zone 9B. This means that you can plant anything rated for 9 all the way down to 1. Any plant that belongs to a planting zone with a larger number than the one you live in will most likely need protection from winter’s cold or may not grow well at all.
The next time you visit Luis’ Nursery in Visalia, take a look at plant labels and you’ll often see Hardiness Zone information included. It’s a sure bet that local nurseries and garden centers will carry flowers, plants and trees that work for your local Hardiness Zone. If there is a unique plant you can’t find locally and are thinking about ordering it online, be sure to check first if it can survive in your local Hardiness Zone.
To learn more about the Visalia, Kings County or Tulare County Hardiness Zone, ask one of our gardening or landscape professionals here at Luis’ Nursery. We’re happy to help you discover new plants, trees or flowers to add to your home, business or commercial property that will thrive and make your landscape shine.
