The charts I have read SR70 at I75 as the dividing line between 9b/10a in my area. I suppose they have to draw a line somewhere, but the plants sure don't understand it. Lots of little micro-climates in this region. I am 30+ miles north of you in the Bradenton area, 5 miles from the gulf with other waterways nearby. Last year, friends on a canal in Venice lost their bananas to the freeze. I had some of their plants here and they were fine. A neighbor here has a bearing coconut palm in his yard - a few brown fronds, but fruit again this past year after the cold. I read of coconuts palms in the Miami region that were hard hit. Palm trees a mile south of me (farther from water) were toasted where ours weren't. I just look around the neighborhood during the winter and see what didn't get killed by the cold, and make my best guess from there as to what to plant. There is nothing certain about gardening, and that's what makes it fun - right? :-) Terri

It varies a lot here because there are so many different microclimates in the area. For permanent landscape plants, you can plan on a range from zones 5 to 7 depending on where you're located, aspect, slope, wind exposure, etc. Most of the nurseries (the local ones, not the big box stores) stock plants that tend to do well, if you plant them in the right location. For example, I've seen many plants that are marginal for zone 7 do well here in a sheltered area where the winter lows are mitigated somewhat. When in doubt, ask. They ought to be able to tell you more. The sunset western garden book is a good place to start, but it doesn't hurt to walk around your neighborhood and notice what plants are doing well and where. Also take a stroll through the arboretum for inspiration. The UNR cooperative extension (http://www.unce.unr.edu/) has loads of searchable publications on landscaping, gardening (including vegetable gardening), and agriculture in general. They also host the Master Gardeners, who can help you diagnose and advise you how to treat plant problems.

I received the McClure & Zimmerman catalog today. It has the Floradapt Hardiness Zone Map included on page 4. It is in very small print though but ok to use. When people ask me what zone I am in, I always say 6 but borderline 5. I realize my planting success seems closer to zone 5 results, especially if we have a harsh winter with those nice ice storme we get. My observation of the Floradapt map is that it puts me right into zone 5. Since I was interested, I looked up the info onlie about the map differences: "Rutgers and Floradapt Plant Hardiness Maps These maps are based on winter-cold isotherms. The Rutgers Plant Hardiness Map, Zones of the United States and Canada (Cook College, Rutgers, Martin Hall, P.O. Box 231, New Brunswick, NJ 08903; $7), has 26 zones based on absolute recorded minimum temperatures. To its credit, the Rutgers map divides the United States into 13 climates east of the 100th meridian, and 13 different ones west of it. Despite the usefulness of this map to gardeners, it's rarely used. Likewise the Floradapt Map (by John Sabuco and the White Oak Group, Inc., 320 202nd St., Chicago Heights, IL 60411). It is a 10-zone, USDA-like map of 10° F increments overlaid with lines and symbols that refine zone descriptions." http://www.garden.org/subchannels/flowers/perennials?q=show&id=44&page=3 Perhaps from what people are saying here, it is a more useful map? This site also mentions some different zone maps(the heat zone map for instance). I cannot find a copy of the Floradapt or Rutgers map online, but it is nice to at least see the copy on page 4 of my gardening book. Three cheers for the catalog! :) Here is a link that might be useful: Rutgers and Floradapt Plant Hardiness Maps Descrptions

Nmfruit, there's a definite art to covering plants around here I see a lot of people do it. Although I don't have a lot of experience gardening, I think this area is not too bad partially because of the high humidity year round. I notice we don't get rapid fluctuations in extremes in temperature. My garden plot is at the foot of some small mountains, so I was shocked when I go up at night to garden how different the air feels there then outside my house. Sometimes there's a thick fog as well coming down. The Eureka lemon I mentioned was very interesting. I have a black 500 L water tank I put directly behind the tree. I then took two old windows to form a triangle on the front. I covered the open top with frost cloth. My idea it was that the tank would absorb sunlight, and radiate the energy at night. It would also create a freezing buffer, as water takes a lot of energy to turn into ice. I left the tree top open to allow rain, but mainly to allow excess heat to escape during sunny days as I didn't want the citrus to break dormancy. My idea is to have citrus survive and do well with no costly electricity or hassle. I saw pictures in a report from a guy in zone 6 I think who was able to have fruiting citrus by creating for walls out of clearwater tanks and putting an old window over the top. It never went below freezing inside of the enclosure, despite getting to 18 below or something outside.