WELLINGTON COUNTY – It may be time for local gardeners to reconsider what they can plant.
The government of Canada collects localized climate information that helps gardeners gauge which plants are likely to survive, or thrive in their areas.
This information is used to classify different areas of the county into different plant hardiness zones from zero to nine.
These zones were updated last month for the first time in more than a decade, with all areas of Wellington County shifting by at least half a zone.
The information used to reclassify the zones was collected by scientists at Natural Resources Canada as well as Canadian gardeners, farmers, growers and foresters.
The classifications, displayed on an interactive Plant Hardiness Zone Map at planthardiness.gc.ca, take into account a range of growing conditions and challenges, including temperature, precipitation and frost duration.
According to Natural Resources Canada social media officer Jackson Lyons, “the new map shows a small but significant warming shift in many parts of the country, with many areas shifting by half a zone or more and some by as much as two full zones.”
In an article for Natural Resources Canada’s Simply Science, Lyons said the changes “can have wide industrial and economic effects,” such as expanding the areas where grapes can be farmed in Ontario.
Most of Wellington County (Centre Wellington, Erin, Mapleton, Minto and Wellington North) were previously classified as zone 5a but have shifted half a zone higher to zone 5b.
Rockwood shifted a full zone from 5a to 6a.
In Puslinch, Guelph and Eden Mills, the zone shifted form 5b to 6a.
