Zoned out

The Canadian Forest Service has initiated something called Going Beyond the Zones, a new look at the old plant hardiness zone maps. Their website states:

It should be apparent to anyone who digs into the matter that both the old, and new, zone maps have limits and have not been calibrated to the wide number of plant species of interest to Canadians. Any single, national formula is bound to have limitations. For example, a decrease in snow cover may be disastrous for some plants in one part of the country, but may indicate generally warmer conditions in another region that may help some plants.

I can certainly say that Vancouver's wet winters can be harder on some plants than the cold is!

Going Beyond the Zones aims to go beyond a single general map and develop climatic profiles for individual species of trees, shrubs and perennial flowers. These climatic profiles will be mapped giving an indication of the possible range of each species.

You can help by registering and providing your feedback on which plants grow well (or don't) in your area.

You can alo play with their interactive zone map.