It would be most helpful if members would put their country/state/province/zone in their profile when they register so that it will appear in the top right-hand corner of their posts. That way any gardener who may be interested in the successes and failures of the post author's plants can judge if those plants would grow and thrive in their own zone. I am zone 2b and when reading something that has caught my eye I immediately look at what the zone and location are. That way I know, say if the poster is in zone 9 for example, I don't even have to bother attempting to grow those plants. They most definitely would not survive outdoors here which is unfortunate because those plants always seem to be the most beautiful.

Again, NGA members it would be most helpful.

P.S. I wanted to correct spelling error in the title but could not change it -- should read helpful not helpfil.

I suggested a change to fix the title.

Thank you.

To fix, should I have clicked on 'Suggest a Change' here: ???

" Mark as unread
" Unwatch this thread
" Suggest a Change

Yep! That's also where you would go if you realize, whoops, I posted this topic in the wrong forum (you can request it be moved).

Agree. But not everyone gets involved here to that level, and some new gardeners don't understand zones and that kind of thing yet. It is fun to be able to consider someone's location &/or zone, to more closely understand what they are saying.

I would think it would be rare that you would find posts from other gardeners in your zone, Tigerpaws. Few gardeners are of such hardy stock! With such a short warm season, I think you would be most interested in instant gratification, buying plants already in bloom that will continue blooming for your entire brief gardening season. The extremely long days are probably confusing to some plants.

We are all limited by our location, and ability to mitigate those conditions to some degree, or not. The grass is not always greener. Weeds sprout almost every day of the year here, mowing season lasts for 9-10 months, and summers are too hot to even appreciate plants most days. There are a surprising number of plants that can't survive perennially where I am now that I knew and loved from OH (Z5.) Many of the same plants bloom so much earlier here. Like Narcissus, which blooms around the end of the year, into Jan. I knew those as March-April bloomers in OH.

Do you do much with perennials? I have no idea what the selection of those would be for Z2.

Yes, Tiffany, I pretty much rely on perennials and shrubs. Have things like clematis, peonies, delphiniums, hollyhocks, irises, aconitum, hostas, daylillies, sedum, poppies, lungworts, phlox, columbines and several others the names of which I can't think of at the moment. I also have tulips, narcissus, allium, lillies, crocus, lily of the valley, etc. These all do well but I would love to be able to grow something more along tropical lines. Also, I am missing out on some of the most beautiful roses cause they just do not survive here. Our past summer was so hot that by the end of the day the plants were very droopy but by next morning they had perked up again. They survived into the fall and they will surely come back in spring. As for annuals, these are purchased cause I don't have the time to grow as many as I need nor do I have a greenhouse. That is on my wish list.

That's a pretty great list of perennials for such a cold location. I had no idea most of those were so hardy! I had most of those in OH but don't see most of them down here.

If you want to look for members near you, you can search here:
https://garden.org/users/membe...

There is also a member map. I see some other gardeners kind of near you:
https://garden.org/users/membe...

"Funny" thing about many of the places further north, Tiffany: some get reliable early snow, and the ground doesn't freeze as coldly as you might think. I know someone who lives in Hay River, Northwest Territories (z2) and his soil doesn't freeze as deeply as mine in z4 Minnesota.

That's what they say.

"They" are right!

tigerpaws said: It would be most helpful if members would put their country/state/province/zone in their profile when they register so that it will appear in the top right-hand corner of their posts. That way any gardener who may be interested in the successes and failures of the post author's plants can judge if those plants would grow and thrive in their own zone.

Re: members listing their country/state/province/zone in their profile: Many folks prefer to share as little personal information as possible on internet platforms, which is understandable with all the spam and scams happening nowadays.

If a member uploads a photo of a plant that you really like and are curious to know if it will grow outdoors in your zone, you could check our plant database which is accessible at the top of every page. I know that not all entries have complete data listed but many have at least some information and will probably show the hardiness zones. You can also ask on the particular thread and I'm sure other members will be able to let you know whether the plant would be advisable for your zone or not.

I was just waiting for someone to object to my suggestion. Personally, I do not see the harm of giving the country or state or zone. In my opinion it would simplify things. I wouldn't have to go back and forth into the database to check out all different plants I may take a liking to. And how would one look up a plant in the database if they don't know the name of it? It is not as if I am asking for a street address, person's real name, phone number, photograph, or any other personal info. You cannot find a more private person than myself yet I have given my province, country and zone. That is all I will give. I don't expect spammers and scammers can make use of this.

My apologies, I did not mean to sound like I was objecting to your suggestion.

I agree a location would help. I am thinking of plants that are suited for zone 9; those that grow well in zone 9 on the west coast do not always grow on the east coast in zone 9 and vice versa. A general region is all that is necessary.

I find location useful too and completely agree with Alice that merely showing a zone can be nearly meaningless. I also agree that Lin wasn't "objecting" — just explaining that some people don't want to divulge their location. Makes limited sense on a gardening website, but that's their choice, I guess.

Everyone's privacy should be left to them to decide how much or how little to share about their location. But at the same time, when asking for specific help for outdoor plants, they need to realize that an area is then required in order to get any help.

tigerpaws said: I was just waiting for someone to object to my suggestion.

Why?

purpleinopp said: Why?

Because my whole life whenever I have made a suggestion or tried to introduce new ideas I got shot down. I must say it does nothing for one's self confidence. It makes ya not want to express yourself cause whatever you say it is wrong!

I seem to remember when I first signed up, I didn't include the zone or area info only because I completely missed it when signing up. If it works like most sites, you sign up with email and password, get an email back that verifies the email and you click the link to log in. And the majority will probably just start using the site (as I did) and not bother going into their profile. So a lot of members that don't show that info could have just simply missed any place to enter it and it may not be a privacy issue. It is just general areas listed, it's not like you're giving your address.

Maybe a popup notice for newly signed up members suggesting they remember to list their area and zone so they get the help they need, or a reminder in the email (although I'd probably miss it in an email, I tend to just look for the link to click).

tigerpaws said: Because my whole life whenever I have made a suggestion or tried to introduce new ideas I got shot down. I must say it does nothing for one's self confidence. It makes ya not want to express yourself cause whatever you say it is wrong!

I have enjoyed your posts that I have read. You don't seem always wrong to me at all. Don't be so hard on yourself, and who cares what other people think? They're not living your life, you are.

As far as gardening goes, 100 gardeners will have 100 different ways of doing the same thing, IF they all wanted to do the same thing. More likely, they're doing 100 different things. So if you are doing things differently, there's nothing wrong with that - and that is most of what we talk about on here. What we did and how we did it. If it was always the same and always inherently either right or wrong, there would be a manual and we would just read that and not have anything to talk about.