As Climate Changes, So Do Gardens Across the United States

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By Grace van Deelen, Eos/AGU. 

Excerpt: Pine Hollow Arboretum’s founder, John W. Abbuhl, began planting trees around his Albany, N.Y., home in the 1960s. He planted species native to surrounding ecosystems but also made ambitious choices—bald cypresses, magnolias, pawpaws, sweetgums—that were more climatically suited to the southeastern United States. Now, those very trees are thriving, said Dave Plummer, a horticulturalist at Pine Hollow.  Other Pine Hollow trees, such as balsam firs native to New York, have struggled with this century’s warming winters. ...Pine Hollow Arboretum is one of many botanical gardens rethinking their planting strategies as the climate warms. These strategies range from testing out new, warmth-loving plants to putting more resources toward pest and invasive species management. Planting Zones Shift North. The U.S. Department of Agriculture recognizes 13 plant hardiness zones based on a region’s coldest annual temperatures, averaged over a period of 30 years. These zones guide gardeners’ planting decisions by advising which species of plants, especially perennials, are most likely to thrive in a specific zone. A new report from Climate Central, a climate change research and communication nonprofit, lays out stark changes to these zones. Scientists compared 30-year coldest temperature averages from the past (1951–1980) and present (1995–2024) at 247 locations across the United States using NOAA’s Applied Climate Information System dataset. They found that 67% of locations have shifted to warmer zones since the 1951–1980 period.... 

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