Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture released a new hardiness zone map revealing shifts in what plants are considered hardy in Minnesota, including the metro, which is now Zone 5a.

As spring nears, many are wondering what we should or shouldn't grow now that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has updated its plant zone hardiness map and moved parts of Minnesota from ...

The map is based on 30-year averages of the coldest winter temperatures at specific locations, and divides the continental U.S. and Canada into 10 zones, which are further divided into half-zones ...

For example, the coldest hardiness zone in the lower 48 states on the new map, 3a, covers small pockets in the northernmost parts of Minnesota and has winter extreme temperatures of -40 F to -35 F.

2012 and 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map zoomed in on northern Minnesota. (Courtesy USDA) The 2023 PHZM also contains a new “Tips for Growers” section which offers helpful information for ...

"Zone 4 is a big geographic area and so when we look at something, if it says zone 4, investigate a little more. Many of those things might be winter hardy," Kinzler said.

Yes, you can successfully grow some zone 4 plants, but others may struggle. If you want to increase your plants’ chances of survival, you may want to still favor zone 3 plants.

Zones for Gardening In November of 2023, for the first time in a decade, the U.S. Department of Agriculture made a change to the “Plant Hardiness Zone” map.

I ask because the U.S. Department of Agriculture has revised its map of plant hardiness zones, causing a lot of excitement among gardeners, who are the largest users of zone classifications.