We
ship to the West Coast all year. Everywhere else, our shipping season ends December
15 and resumes March 15. Click here for details
and exceptions.
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| There are two kinds of zones mentioned on our site. HARDINESS ZONES are based on how cold your winters are and tell you which plants you can grow outdoors. POSTAL ZONES are based on how far from us you live and tell you how much it will cost to ship your plants there. The post office does not care how cold your winters are, and your plants don't care how close you live to us, so don't confuse the two kinds of zones. |
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Plant Hardiness Zones
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At the end of most plant listings you'll find zone numbers, e.g., Zone 8. These refer to U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones. They are determined by your range of annual average minimum temperature. For example, if your coldest winter temperatures are between 10 and 20 degrees F, you live in zone 8. If your temperatures are as low as -20 to -10, you're in zone 5. If you live in zone 5 and you buy a plant rated at zone 8 and plant it outside for the winter, it will most likely die, because it can't take winters as cold as yours.
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These zone designations only consider temperature, but other factors can enter into hardiness. For example, Zone 8 in the Pacific Northwest has very rainy winters that will rot some plants that will grow well in zone 8 in Texas. Other plants may do well in the dry northwest summers, but not so well in the humid summers of the south. Remember that hardiness zones apply to plants in the ground. Plants in pots are more likey to freeze, even if they are rated for your zone. Also, just because your climate is warm doesn't mean you can grow anything. Some plants that are adapted to cold climates need cold winters. |
Click to go to USDA zone
map.
West Coast residents take note: Sunset Magazine uses a different zone system. It is more precise than the USDA system, but when using national catalogs, you should make sure you're using your USDA zone, not your Sunset zone. The two do not correspond. |
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Postal (Shipping) Zones
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Postal zones are relative, not absolute. That is, if you live on the east coast and buy from us, your postal zone will be 8. But if you buy from a nursery on the east coast, your postal zone may be 1, 2, or 3. Your hardiness zone is always the same, but your postal zone varies with your distance from the shipper. We make it easy to find out your postal zone relative to us. First, anything east of Chicago is zone 8. Second, if you don't live east of Chicago, you can use the gizmo at the right to find your zone. Insert the FIRST 3 digits of your zip code and click the button. You will see this calculator again in our shopping cart. The cart will have a place to SELECT your zone. Remember that, if you change the quantities or leave the shopping cart page for any reason, you'll have to select the zone AGAIN to have shipping correctly calculated. |
Find your postal zone.
Enter the first 3 digits of your Zip Code: Your Zone is: |
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We
ship to the West Coast all year. Everywhere else, our shipping season
ends December 15 and resumes March 15. Click
here for details and exceptions.
|
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