Re: CULT: zones

I've been thinking the same thing.

Plus the geographic information (i.e., state or province) tells me more
than zone about climate and potential performance of an iris here.

<I am wondering, however, if the data are really available to sustain
the endeavor you have launched upon. ..... It is generally regarded as a
fallacy to draw conclusions that are more precise than the data on which
they are based.>

<A totally different issue is the question of how indicative USDA Zone
designations of the average annual lowest temperature are of reblooming
iris performance. After all, this refers to a particular datum that
relates to a season when no irises are blooming except in the mildest
climate areas. I would think that perhaps the average length of the
frost-free growing season would be more predictive of reblooming iris
performance than the absolute low temperature that is reached in the
depths of winter, though obviously these two items are not uncorrelated
(but I expect that correlation is much less than perfect).

--
Linda Mann east Tennessee USA zone 7/8
East Tennessee Iris Society <http://www.korrnet.org/etis>
American Iris Society web site <http://www.irises.org>
talk archives: <http://www.hort.net/lists/iris-talk/>
photos archives: <http://www.hort.net/lists/iris-photos/>
online R&I <http://www.irisregister.com>

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