Viewing post #20492 by CapeCodGardener

I've got echinacea, pansies, calendula, rudbeckia, violas, foxgloves, hollyhocks, marigolds, coreopsis, and one lone columbine seedling (out of several seeds sowed ) all nicely popping up in my jugs as of this morning. oh yes, some sunflowers too.
These are all pretty reliable WS-ers, but I'm always thrilled to see them anyway! In fact, I've had to repot the calendula seedlings and set them inside my plastic greenhouse. Haven't started to WS the "tenders" like zinnias and tomatoes yet, but I will soon.

Molly, I have to agree with you--the standard USDA horticultural zones (1 through 11) aren't nearly detailed enough. For instance, my daughter in the DC area and I (Cape Cod) are both stated to be in zone 6b-7a. But our growing seasons, rainfall, and temperature fluctuations are quite different. I prefer the Sunset Magazine climate zones, which are somewhat more descriptive--yet even their zone 34 description doesn't accurately describe our average last frost date, which is May 25th!

Cape Cod, according to Sunset zones:
ZONE 34. Lowlands and Coast from Gettysburg to North of Boston
Growing season: late April to late Oct. Ample rainfall and humid summers are the norm. Winters are variable–typically fairly mild (around 20 degrees F/-7 degrees C), but with lows down to -3 degrees to -22 degrees F/-19 degrees to -30 degrees C if arctic air swoops in.

Northern Virginia, according to Sunset:
ZONE 32. Interior Plains of Mid-Atlantic States; Chesapeake Bay, Southeastern Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey
Growing season: late Mar. to early Nov. Rain falls year-round (40" to 50" annually); winter lows (moving through the zone from south to north) are 30 degrees to 20 degrees F/-1 degree to -7 degrees C. Humidity is less oppressive here than in Zone 31.