Horticulturist Explains New USDA Plant Hardiness Map

UMaine Alert

Posted: April 19, 2024 - 1:32 PM

At approximately 9:24 a.m. on Friday, April 19, a University of Maine graduate student was struck by a university vehicle on Long Road at the University of Maine campus in Orono. The student reports that they are at a local hospital with minor injuries.

Emergency services, including the Orono Fire Department, University Volunteer Ambulance Corps, University of Maine Police Department, Orono Police Department and Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene.

The university vehicle involved in the incident was a Chevrolet Express van. It was being operated by a university employee.

Counseling services and support are available for students, faculty or staff who may have been affected. The Counseling Center can be reached at 207-581-1392 and the Dean of Students Office can be reached at 207-581-1406.

The scene has been cleared and Long Road is now accessible. An investigation is being conducted by the University of Maine Police Department with assistance from the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office Crash Reconstruction Unit. Any witnesses to the incident are encouraged to contact Lt. Noel Santiago at noel.santiago@maine.edu.

February 15, 2012 Cooperative Extension

The recently released USDA Plant Zone Hardiness Map, updating the previous 26-year-old zone map, reflects rising mean temperatures throughout the country, including Maine, where gardeners must carefully consider possible temperature dips as they anticipate spring planting.

University of Maine Cooperative Extension professor and ornamental horticulture specialist Lois Berg Stack is available to explain what the new map might mean for Maine gardeners, in addition to suggestions about preparations for early planting.

The hardiness zone map has always been a suggestion for plant selection, not a guarantee, says Stack. Lots of other factors – length of growing season, accumulated heat during growing season, water availability, nutrient availability, soil type, general plant maintenance, etc. – are equally important.

“I usually tell people that the hardiness zone rating is a starting point,” she says. “And, although we do have climate change, and the new map reflects some ‘warming’ in some parts of Maine, it is based on one thing: the single coldest temperature each winter, averaged over several years. Plants have to survive each day, one by one. Although our winters may be warmer on average, we still have cold temperatures every winter.”

Stack also says that February is the start of the gardening season – the time to start onion seeds for next winter’s storage, time to take cuttings of geraniums that have overwintered on a windowsill, time to visit a local garden center to for inspiration, or the time to take a gardening course or read a gardening book.

February also is the perfect time to cut tree and shrub branches to bring indoors to force their flowers into color, she adds.

Contact: Lois Stack, (207) 581-2949