Tara Dillard on Hardiness Zones: Why Maps Fail Georgia Gardeners

Tara Dillard challenges the reliability of USDA hardiness zone maps for Georgia landscapes.

"I've always thought the map zones were bogus for our area. Designing from south DeKalb to north Fulton, I know plants thriving in my part of DeKalb fail in Gwinnett; similarly, north Fulton successes don't translate to south DeKalb.

Observing woodlands on north versus south sides of Stone Mountain—both shaded—reveals dramatic differences. Traveling from Augusta's coastal plain tip up to Vinings, entering the Piedmont, explains our zone complexity. It all comes back to: 'Plants don't read books or maps.'"