Re: Sunset Zones
John Dreher wrote:
>
> Tim, How does this zone sound:
>
> "Zone 17:
> The climate in this zone features cool, wet, almost frostless winters and cool
> summers with frequent fog or wind. On most days and in most places, the fog
> tends to come in high and fast, creating a cooling and humidifying blanket
> between the sun and the earth, reducing the intensity of the light and sunshine.
> Some heat-loving plants (citrus, hibiscus, gardenia) don't get enough heat to
> fruit or flower reliably.
>
> In a 20-year period, the lowest winter temperatures in zone 17 ranged from 3C to
> -5C. The lowest temperatures on record at the various stations range from -1C to
> -7C. Of further interest in this heat-starved climate are the highs of summer,
> normally in the 15C to 24C range. The average highest temperature of 12 weather
> stations in zone 17 is only 36C. In all the other Northern California climate
> zones, average highest temperatures on record are in the 40C to 47C range.
>
> Zone 17's climate is dominated by the ocean about 98% of the time. You can see
> the salt water from most areas in zone 17, such as Pacific Grove, where the
> mounding aloes and agaves with tall flower spikes bloom at the water's edge.
> This climate also favors fuchsias and commercially grown artichokes, Brussels
> sprouts, and Easter lilies."
>
> If you substitute "masses of rain and wind" for "frequent fog or wind" it sounds close.
John
This sort of description just brings home to me the uniqueness of each
particular microclimate. While the temperature variations in my area of
NZ are very similar to what you quote, your foggy summer sounds not in
the least like my cool, dry, often sunny one. We do get a fairly high
rainfall (around 70" in your notation) but usually see little
precipitation from midsummer until Autumn is well under way. it's too
cool for Hibiscus and Gardenias to be worth while unless specially
sheltered or under glass, but many citrus varieties grow and crop well
around the district. By using s bit of summer shade we can also grow
very good fuchsias, most of which will winter out of doors most years,
and all sorts of lilies.
I think the best most of us can do when posing problems to the list
which involve climate is probably to give the salient features of the
weather in our own patch, rather than just quoting climate zone numbers
of whatever sort. No doubt it would also be worth while(especially for
Americans) indicating the actual district they live in, as very often
someone else comes from nearby and this will make it easier for them to
visualize the particular problem.
Moira
--
Tony & Moira Ryan <theryans@xtra.co.nz>
Wainuiomata,
New Zealand (astride the "Ring of Fire" in the SW Pacific).
