Hardiness
The hardiness zones
presented alongside the plant descriptions in this catalog are intended
to give a general indication of an individual plant’s cold tolerance.
Defining plant hardiness has always been something of a slippery slope.
In essence, hardiness zones provide customers with a sense of how well a
plant may fare at the coldest end of any given
zone.
Anyone who has gardened long enough however, knows that such numbers are
by no means definitive. Most gardeners know of someone who has beaten
the odds by successfully growing a plant that is not supposed to be
fully hardy in their zone. In fact, it is easy to push the envelope
with some plants simply by understanding their needs and matching those
requirements to an appropriate spot in your landscape. For instance, if
you were to consider purchasing a rhododendron that is labeled as hardy
to -15 F, it does not follow that the plant will perish if the
temperature drops to -16 F or even to -20 F. What it means is that if
you live atop a sunny hill that gets blasted by winter winds, you should
probably think twice about taking that plant home with you. Your next
door neighbor, however, who lives near the bottom of the hill, ringed by
tall pines, where the soil is dark and humusy, might do well to purchase
such a plant. The bottom line is that there are many factors other than
temperature minima that can influence the health of your plants; soil
quality, moisture and nutrient availability, and exposure to sun and
wind all play a part in determining whether or not a plant will thrive
in its environment. Appropriate siting is always key, and a little
extra attention for the first season will do much to help insure the
success of your plants.
