URBANA, Ill. — On a cold, blustery January day, it may be hard to remember that 2023 was the hottest year on record. But the newest update to the plant hardiness map, in which half the country shifted ...

Freezing weather may make it hard to believe, but many Chicago-area gardeners — and their plants — are now living in a slightly warmer world, according to a new version of the USDA’s plant hardiness ...

Sometimes called “growing zones” or “gardening zones,” hardiness zones refer to a map developed by the USDA that separates the United States into regions based on the average low winter temperatures.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture updated its plant-hardiness-zone map for the U.S. for the first time in more than a decade. The new map appears to reflect a warming climate, as ...