Re: new USDA hardiness map

**"* B* <l*@msn.com>**

Hi, Jo Ellen!

Thanks for the Scientific America reference.  

What no one is writing about yet is the impact of the climate change on Growing Degree Days (GDD), the measure that's used to help us understand the seasonal evolution of insect pests.  That has huge implications for gardeners in how to manage and maintain their landscapes. I get concerned about the potential increased usage of toxic treatments that most of the gardening public uses, as a warmer climate will bring more insects for longer periods of time.  

For those on this list that would like to know more about GDD, you can read about it on the Cornell website:
http://www.entomology.cornell.edu/Extension/Woodys/GrowingDegreeDays.html<http://www.entomology.cornell.edu/Extension/Woodys/GrowingDegreeDays.html>.

Lorraine 

Lorraine Ballato 
Brookfield CT (where today was definitely NOT an example of a warmer than usual day!)
----- Original Message ----- 
  From: jo ellen meyers sharp<h*@sbcglobal.net> 
  To: gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org<g*@lists.ibiblio.org> 
  Sent: Tuesday, April 07, 2009 7:07 PM
  Subject: [GWL] new USDA hardiness map

  March 23, 2009 Scientific American
  Climate Change Hits American Yards
  An updated hardiness map for plants from the U.S. Department of 
  Agriculture reveals just how much local climates are changing
  By Jennifer Weeks   

  A new spring bloom: U.S. gardeners might have to head back to the 
  drawing board because the flowers that can flourish in their area 
  have likely changed in the past decades due to climate change.

  As winter retreats northward across the nation, gardeners are 
  cleaning tools and turning attention to spring planting. But climate 
  change is adding a new wrinkle, and now a standard reference - the 
  U.S. Department of Agriculture's Plant Hardiness Zone Map - is about 
  to make very clear how much rising temperatures have shifted planting 
  zones northward.

  http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=climate-change-backyard<http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=climate-change-backyard>
  -- 
  Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp
  The Hoosier Gardener
  Director Garden Writers Association
  Writer * Editor * Speaker * Garden Consultant
  Co-author,The Indiana Gardener's Guide
  Editor, Indiana Living Green magazine
  P.O. Box 20310, Indianapolis, IN 46220
  E-mail: hoosiergardener@sbcglobal.net<h*@sbcglobal.net>
  http://www.hoosiergardener.com<http://www.hoosiergardener.com/>
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