Your plant hardiness zone may have changed!

[RosieL]

http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb

New USDA map for warmer 21st century. I've always been a 6b...now 7a. Interesting!

[MaJoie]

Thank you for this. It's the 1st one I've seen that shows counties when you click on individual states.

[Imakcerka]

I was 8b and now I'm 9a... Interesting.  I'm only planting native plants this year and herbs.  I might do some peppers but I'm  not sure yet.

[kitchensqueen]

My zone is still the same - Chicago stays put at 5b. I kind of feel like I got ripped off. 

Imakcerka - do hot peppers! I'm going to grow some Tabascos this year. 

[mattemma04]

*****

Edited by mattemma04 - 4/21/12 at 2:23pm

[DoubleDouble]

I don't think this re-zoning is entirely correct. 95% of time the weather might be warmer, and then during the leftover 5% some crazy weather can happen with an unpredictable cold snap. And there go all the tender plants.

[SweetSilver]

Yeah, that's kind of wonky.  It shows my area only getting minimum temperatures or 5 to 10F.  That's the typical extreme, but we get those years when it gets down to 0 and everything marginal dies.  Nope, I still won't plant anything that can't take a 0'F night. 

Hot peppers are easier to grow than sweet.  Good luck!

[DoubleDouble]

There's a cold snap in Europe right now - there is snow on the ground in Corsica, in southern France, and around the Colosseum in Rome. There's a photo on CNN of a fountain frozen still in Lyon. Romania had temperatures of -34C (-29F) and the sea waterfront froze solid on Black Sea in Constanza. Crazy! I guess it's one of those once-in-a-few-decades thing. (Although the article went on and on about the cold temperatures in Ukraine, I was under the impression that Ukraine has cold winters normally anyways.)

Some pictures of the cold snap on CNN