What are Gardening Zones Eight & Nine?

Zone 8 Geography

• Zone 8 contains coastal areas of the Deep South to the West Coast. It covers inland sections of western and southern states. A small part of southeastern Virginia is within zone 8, along with eastern North Carolina, the eastern half of South Carolina and southern regions of Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi. The Florida Panhandle, much of Louisiana, southern segments of Arkansas, a large share of central Texas and a bit of southern New Mexico are in zone 8. Zone 8 continues in Arizona's southeastern corner, slicing northwest into the opposite corner of the state. In California, zone 8 covers a small piece of the southwest coastal region but turns north to the Nevada border where it extends into that state's southern boundaries. It goes into eastern California and much of coastal Oregon and Washington.

Zone 9 Geography

• USDA zone 9 is smaller than zone 8, existing in just seven separate states. It covers northeast Florida and extends south about two-thirds of the way down the peninsula. Zone 9 covers coastal sections of Louisiana and Texas, going into extreme southern Texas. In Arizona, most of the southwestern third of the state is zone 9. California contains the most area encompassed by zone 9, with the western and southeastern portions in this zone. Zone 9 then ends in Oregon, approximately halfway up the coast.

Temperatures

• The USDA zones exist to let you know what minimum winter temperature is possible in each one, a factor that goes along way when considering the cold hardiness of a particular plant. In zone 8, the lowest winter temperatures are from 10 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit. The minimum winter cold in zone 9 is from 20 to 30 degrees Fahrenheit. Contrast these temperatures with the drastically lower ones of zones such as zone 2, which can experience a winter that sees a thermometer read -50 Fahrenheit.

Potential Species

• Since this pair of zones is so warm, a few landscaping species acclimated to the colder regions are not suitable for it, such as many coniferous trees and most birches. Among the plants appropriate for USDA zones 8 and 9 are broadleaf evergreens like boxwoods, camellias and hollies. Deciduous shrubs include barberry, beautyberry, forsythia and shrub rose forms. Perennials such as daylilies, coralbells, garden phlox and asters grow within both zones. Different species of cedars, cypresses and junipers are suitable for one or both zones, as are trees like the trident maple, Japanese maple, silver maple, American hornbeam, serviceberry and river birch.