Connecticut Gardening – Knowing Your Planting Zones

If you’re planning to plant a garden in Connecticut, you’ll first need to know your planting zones. You can find these maps at the Gilmour Garden Center and the University of Connecticut Extension. These interactive maps allow you to pinpoint the exact zone for your property. It’s especially useful for locations near the border of a zone. For example, Stamford is in zone 7a, while portions remain in zone 6b. You can plant any kind of flower or plant that does well in a certain region of Connecticut, but plants that are hardy in zones 3 to seven will probably only survive in a Connecticut planting climate if you have protection against winter.

Knowing your Connecticut planting zones is essential for planning your vegetable garden. If you’re planting tomatoes, make sure you plant them in their appropriate zone for this region. In addition to determining the best time to plant each variety, knowing when the last and first frost dates fall will help you plan your planting schedule for vegetables and other crops. The last and first frost dates are based on the USDA’s plant hardiness zones for the state. In Connecticut, there’s a 10% chance of frost occurring before or after the first and last dates.

For the state of Connecticut, there are four USDA plant hardiness zones. The first is 5a in the western mountains and 8a on the eastern shore. Using this guide, you can decide what type of plants you want to grow in your home garden. Broccoli, for example, is a great winter vegetable that contains lots of vitamins and minerals. In colder months, cabbage is another healthy choice for your home garden. It is packed with antioxidants and has a nice crunch.

Root vegetables are the best plants for Connecticut. Beets, carrots, and turnips are excellent choices. But you must wait until the danger of frost has passed to plant these vegetables. A few flowers you should plant in CT are daylilies, shasta daisies, coleus, and red creeping thyme. Soil fertility in this state is crucial to the survival of many plants. The following list is a good guideline for Connecticut gardening.