SE Washington State planting zone
gailene
| Posted in Pacific Northwest Gardening on
I live in SE Washington State, where our summers are dry & hot and winters can range from mild with little snowfall to cold and a couple of feet of snow. Do I still follow plant recommendations for the PNW zone? I have found that when referring to the PNW zone, it usually considers the typical rainy weather climes of Seattle/Portland, etc.
Thank you for sharing your insight.
gailene03
Replies
Hello Gailene,
Sorry for the delay. Since I do not know where you are located - no town or zipcode- I will go ahead and tell you what I DO know about your gardening climate which I believe is similar to mine in Boise, ID, We are lucky to get 12 inches of rain here, so while I do pay attention to the "hardiness zone", I make have had to make my own way with the lack of rain. You might do well adhering to plant recommendations for my area, the Mountain West, instead of the PNW. Look at Boise, Denver, and Salt Lake.
In addition, we are now considered a Hardiness Zone 7, but I use the Zone 6 recommendations when it comes to purchasing anything expensive, i.e., trees.
Please let me know if you have other questions.
Mary Ann
Thanks for answering. I figured SE Washington would be enough information but I'm in the Tri-Cities. I had figured looking at those zones you mentioned would be more relevant to us but I'm never really sure. "Everyone" thinks that WA State means Seattle/PDX and that our landscape is evergreens and we get loads of rain. People are surprised when I tell them it's a desert here.
Thanks again--
gailene
Glad to be of help. You had it correct: semi-arid, shrub steppe ecosystem/less than 12 inches of rain per year. I would also hold with the Zone 6 as mentioned. Good luck in the garden.
I love this conversation. I live most of my time on the rainy side of the PNW, but have been starting to garden and live winters in the NW side of Arizona. I've been learning a lot about the desert gardening here. It is a zone 7 and we do get snow in the winter. It is very dry and rain usually comes in the form of monsoons during the fall and winter. It is very similar to the east side of the Cascade mountains. I'm planting lots of native (to Arizona ) plants that grow so well with the dry-cold. If you want to try some of these I think they will do well in your area too. They are really interesting and beautiful.