Re: hardiness ratings was: Briggs Moonlight

> From: Cersgarden@aol.com
> Heronswood lists this as a zone 5 shrub.  I thought it was as hardy
as Carol 
> Mackie which I have in my zone 4/5 garden.
----------

One of the things I've noticed over the years is that nurseries tend
to rate plants for hardiness based on what they've heard or read if
it's outside of their own climate zone.  This means that for a whole
lot of plants out there, the hardiness zone rating you find in any
nursery catalog is pretty much of a guess unless otherwise stated -
like 'this plant is known to be grown in z. 4 New York'  or similar.

Just about any author of plant books is doing the same thing.  When
it comes to stating hardiness ratings outside your own personal
sphere of practical knowledge, you have to depend on what you have
read and that can vary widely.

When I research plants, I am often amazed at the range of hardiness
ratings I find for them and especially if it happens to be something
I know can grow either farther north or won't grow farther north or
south.  A lot of erroneous info. floating around out there in plant
land just keeps getting repeated and repeated in different venues.

The email lists are extremely valuable regarding hardiness when those
who are growing something say where they are successfully (or
unsuccessfully) growing it.

I also think Heronswood tends to be a tad conservative, since they
are located in this relatively mild area.

On the subject of zone ratings....they really are only a very rough
guide since a plants hardiness depends on so many factors that the
zone designations do not take into consideration.  I think the
ratings are valuable because they give a person a starting point, but
the should not be taken as gospel in any direction.  I have read
discussions where the opposite viewpoint is voiced - that all these
zone ratings should be abolished and the location of origin of the
plant stated instead because provenance will be a very big
determining factor in whether a plant survives in your particular
garden.  Others think that instead of zones, temperature ranges
should be used.  Whatever..we all need a starting point, but we need
to understand that this is what it is...only a starting point in our
own research.

Marge Talt, zone 7 Maryland
mtalt@hort.net
Editor:  Gardening in Shade
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