2012 USDA Hardiness Zone Map of Indiana

Indiana’s gardens made a move this past week when the U.S. Department of Agriculture released its long-awaiting Plant Hardiness Zone Map.

The map, which is broken up into zones based on the lowest average temperatures, shows Central Indiana in Zone 6a (-10 to -5 degrees F), which registers a bit warmer than Zone 5b (-15 to -10 degrees F) where we’ve been since 1990.

The government, Oregon State University and experts in meteorology, horticulture and agriculture analyzed weather data from 1976 to 2005 to come up with the new interactive map.

You can plug in your ZIP code or GPS and get even more details about the average weather in your area on the map.

Much of Northern Indiana is now in Zone 5b (-15 to -10 degrees F).  The southern border of the state did not change. It remains is in Zone 6b (0 to -5 degrees F), but that area takes up a larger chunk of Southern Indiana. The map also adds two new zones — Zone 12 and Zone 13 — to include tropical regions.

It will take a couple of years for plant tags and other sources of information to catch up to the new map’s rating. Books, too, will have out of date maps, and publishers are scrambling to get the new one included in new releases as soon as possible, said Billie Brownell, acquisitions editor for Cool Springs Press.

Living in a zone that’s been rated slightly warmer invites gardeners to try plants listed hardy to Zone 6, said Steve Mayer, an educator with the Marion County Extension office.

Plants already in the landscape will continue to thrive, “but we might be able to stretch a little bit with some different plants,” he said. He cautioned, however, that smart gardeners would stick with the Zone 5 rating for trees and shrubs, since they are long-lasting plants in the landscape.

The shift in zones does not reflect global warming, which takes 50 to 100 years of analysis, Mayer said.

Many landscape have microclimates, sections of the yard that are warmer than others. City gardeners are more likely to have warmer landscapes than more suburban or rural plots, and the new map reflects this. Urban streets and sidewalks retain heat and buildings protect gardens from winds, said John Platte, owner of Perennials Plus, a wholesale grower and retailer in Westfield, Ind.

“It’s best to think of the map as a guide rather than gospel,” he said.

2012 USDA Hardiness Zone Map

Photo courtesy GirlySteel.com

Just like everything else in the city, Downtown planters are getting spruced up for the Super Bowl. And, as with other organizers, the planning has been going on for months. Plants, after all, need to retain their beauty despite the weather and exuberant fans.

Junipers have been planted in 172 containers, said Carol Mullins, beautification manager for Indianapolis Downtown Inc. Floral twigs and evergreen boughs were added recently to fill in.

Photo courtesy GirlySteel.com

Twenty containers sprout original metal sculptures from Girly Steel, the artistic persona of Joanie Drizin of Noblesville, Ind. The stylized footballs were inspired by a famous championship Super Bowl trophy, said Drizin who has been working on the sculptures since last June.

Photo courtesy GirlySteel.com

The 49-year-old Cincinnati native and former commercial artist formed the footballs out of recycled rebar and sheets of metal. Large, heavy brake rotors form the base of the sculptures, which are already rusty and meant to be left outdoors.

“I created 15 different designs, each with slight changes” to give each a unique look, she said.

Normally, nature inspires Drizin’s sculptures, which are found in many landscapes in the area, including Kevin Foy’s. He is regional manager for Brickman Group, a commercial landscape company hired to plant the containers. IDI wanted a vertical element for 20 special containers, he said.

“I have a piece of Girly Steel’s work and had long admired her work from seeing her annually at the Broad Ripple Art Fair,” he said.

Photo courtesy GirlySteel.com

“I like Joanie’s use of the material, and the way she lets each piece naturalize — rusted steel, rough rock, unpolished glass. The forms she can pull out of strips of steel and rebar are amazing! I think they are very distinctive. Equally important for this project, Joanie is an Indiana artist,” Foy said.

The sculptures were installed in the 20 containers around town this past week.

The goal, said IDI President Tamara Zahn, is to brighten the Indianapolis streetscape. “The added evergreens and steel sculptures provide a ‘fun’ factor and pleasant surprise for Downtown guests.”

(C) Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp

Winter has finally arrived in Central Indiana. As I write this, the ground is covered with about an inch of snow and the sun is playing hide-and-seek.

In a few days, though, the temps will move up to the 40s, again challenging plants that have been fooled out of the ground because of our long fall and winter of warm weather. Some plants though are tough and up to the challenge of Indiana’s always changing climate.

Here’s a sampler:

(C) Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp

Helleborus Cinnamon Snow has started blooming. I transplanted this from the back to the front yard, where it will get a tad bit more sun and where I can see it a little better. Cinnamon Snow (H. x ballardiae) is from the Skagit Gardens’ Gold Collection. It is the earliest blooming hellebore I have.

(C) Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp

Thanks to Ball Horticulture for sending me some Cool Wave pansies to try. They have been blooming all fall and are still blooming, even under the snow. The flowers are yellow, white and blue.

The ornamental cabbage is holding its own, dressed up a bit still with some boughs of winter greenery. I saw some ornamental cabbage used in holiday containers this year, which is definitely something I’m going to try with a client next year. Using the cabbage will get two glorious seasons from a traditional fall ornamental.

(C) Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp

Indoors, the amaryllis demands all the attention. I have had this red one for many years and have had reasonably good luck at getting these tender bulbs to bloom every year.

In summer, I pot up several single bulbs into a bigger container and move them outdoors in a sunny location. I fertilize when I do my other pots. In fall, I move the amaryllis indoors, cut back the leaves and put in a sunny window. Voila! Blooms early in the year.

Lastly, I’m grateful for two secrets Mother Nature revealed to me this past December. It helps when the lost secrets have bright red handles.

Orange Storm flowering quince. Photo courtesy Proven Winners/ColorChoice

Fashion forward gardeners are probably wondering how they can incorporate Tangerine Tango, the Color Institute’s 2012 Color of the Year, into their landscape.

Fortunately, we have many, fashionable choices.

“Orange is very trendy now and makes for dynamic and unique mixes,” said Bill Calkins, retail business manager of Ball Horticulture, which markets Burpee, Darwin Perennials and Simply Beautiful Plants.

Here are some suggestions:

Tiki Torch coneflower. Photo courtesy Terra Nova Nurseries

Orange tones definitely are trendy in coneflowers (Echinacea) with Double Scoop ‘Orangeberry’ and ‘Sombrero Hot Coral’ from Darwin, ‘Marmalade’ from Plants Nouveau, and ‘Tiki Torch’ and ‘Tangerine Dream’ from Terra Nova Nurseries, to name just a few. These perennials sizzle with the hot tropical rhythms suggested by Tangerine Tango.

Double Take ‘Orange Storm’ is a gorgeous, thornless, deer resistant flowering quince (Chaenomeles) from Proven Winners. The shrub blooms off and on all summer and gets about 3 feet tall and 4 feet wide.

There are lots of tangerine-hue choices in the annual category, including several for shade. Rockapulco Dark Orange is a double impatiens (I. walleriana). Infinity Dark Salmon Glow and Divine Orange Bronze Leaf are New Guinea impatiens (I. hawkeri). These shade lovers will do well in pots or in the ground.

Color appropriate annuals for sunnier spots include Superbells Tequila Sunrise (Calibrachoa), which has speckled flowers and a nice trailing habit. Double Zahara Fire, a 2010 All-America Selections award-winning zinnia (Z. interspecific), has 2 ½-inch wide orange flowers. UpTown Orange Blossom zinnia (Z. marylandica) gets about 24 inches tall and wide. Both zinnias are resistant to fungus diseases.

Zahara Double Fire zinnia. Photo courtesy Ball Horticulture

For a climbing perennial vine, ‘Mandarin’ honeysuckle (Lonicera) is perfectly named for the fashion sensitive job. Proven Winners’ Orange-A-Peel, an annual black-eyed Susan vine (Thunbergia alata), is spectacular in a hanging basket.

Complimentary colors include red, yellow, green, bronze, blue, purple and white. Give a garden’s version of Tangerine Tango a whirl this summer.

What: 26th annual Boone County Master Gardener’s Gardenfest

When: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 14, 2012

Where: Boone County Fairgrounds in Lebanon, Ind.

Admission: free

There will be speakers, door prizes, soil testing, activity for children and much more, all for free.

Peonies, such as Sarah Bernhardt, live for decades. Photo courtesy PerennialResource.com

Just like we examine our eating habits and level of exercise, the first of the year is a good time to evaluate the landscape.

For most of us, 2011’s excessive heat and drought created extreme challenges for gardening. Take that into consideration especially when evaluating the vegetable garden’s production. Add to the critique landscape plants that did not live up to our expectations or consumed more time than we had to give.

First, a few words of advice. Don’t beat yourself up for failures. I’m an experienced gardener and have killed or failed to grow more plants than you ever will.

Plants die. Some, like peonies, have decades-long life spans. The Shasta daisies, however, usually last only two or three years.

If containers didn’t flourish, determine how faithful you were with fertilizing and watering. Annuals, perennials, vegetables and small shrubs growing in ornamental pots need to be fertilized more regularly than plants growing in the ground. Read and follow the label directions of the product you use. Even if you use fertilizer pellets or beads when potting up the container, many experts recommend a periodic application of a water-soluble fertilizer, especially if plants start to look bad. Containers also need to be monitored for watering needs.

If a plant that you really like fails to thrive, consider moving it to a different location, such as one with more or less light, drier or wetter soil. Always make sure to allow for the mature height and width of a plant or it will be come maintenance problem.

Keep in mind that certain plants will struggle in the central Indiana garden. Azaleas and rhododendrons, pieris and hollies need acidic soil, but ours is alkaline. Hydrangeas (H. macrophylla) that bloom on year-old growth tend not to do well because late spring freezes kill the flower buds.

Eventually, if you determine a plant is not going to work, pull it out and replace it with something new.

Here’s the January checklist of things to do in the Indiana garden and with houseplants.

Here’s a calendar of garden and nature related events and activities in Central Indiana. It is provided as a public service by Wendy Ford of Landscape Fancies. Please click on the green link below to download your copy.

Cayennetta is a compact grower, making it perfect for container gardening. Four-inch long tapered green peppers turn bright red as they mature. Photo courtesy All-America Selections

Two colorful peppers, a yellow-skinned watermelon and a pink salvia are the first All-America Selections announced for 2012.

Faerie watermelon has a crisp sweetness. Photo courtesy All-America Selections

All-America Selections are grown from seeds in test gardens throughout the United States and those that are judged reliable and with improvements over other cultivars get the honor.

Unlike previous years, AAS, a non-profit trade and education group, will announce winners throughout the year rather than all at once. And AAS plants or seeds should be more readily available at local garden centers, online or mailorder retailers.

Ornamental pepper Black Olive. Photo courtesy All-America Selections

‘Black Olive’ ornamental pepper (Capsicum annum) has pale purple flowers, deep purple leaves and purple fruit that turns red as it matures. The fruit is edible but fiery hot. Grow in full sun. The frost-tender annual gets about 18 inches tall and 15 inches wide. Ornamental peppers work well in containers, as a front border in a flower bed or used in a mass planting.

‘Cayennetta’ chili pepper (Capsicum annum) has a compact, bushy habit that yields 4-inch long, tapered green peppers that turn red as they mature. The plant gets about 20 inches tall and 24 inches wide. Grow in full sun.

‘Faerie’ watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) has pale yellow rind pinkish-red, very sweet and crisp flesh. The vine spreads to about 11 feet, making  ‘Faerie’ a good choice for a smaller garden. It is an early variety, with only 72 days to harvest when sown from seed. Each slightly rounded melon weighs four to six pounds with a slightly rounded shape. Grow in full sun.

Summer Jewel Pink salvia, a 2012 AAS winner. Photo courtesy All-America Selections

‘Summer Jewel Pink’ salvia (S. coccinea) is a long blooming annual that gets 20 inches tall and 16 inches wide. Plant in full sun in clusters or as a filler in a container. It is a sister to ‘Summer Jewel Red’ salvia, which was an All-America Selection in 2011.

Visit an area garden during the holiday, such as Garfield Park and its train exhibit in the conservatory, through Jan. 8, 2012. © Fritz Nerding

Thank you readers for your questions and good cheer for another year. Here are my wishes for you:

May all of your indoor and outdoor plants be strong and healthy.

Eat local and buy your produce locally. Farmers markets abound throughout the state, making it easier to get greens, tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, blueberries, strawberries and many other fruits and veggies throughout the growing season. Even in winter, you can find root crops, such as potatoes and parsnips, and greens at farmers markets.

Realize that Mother Nature is not perfect. A bug-eaten leaf is not the end of the world and may not require any corrective action on your part.

Reject plants in the garden center that do not look healthy. Plants should not have insect eaten leaves, look chlorotic, have dried foliage or dead flowers.

Yank out invasive species in the landscape, such as Japanese or Asian honeysuckles, garlic mustard and Canada thistle.

Champion a green initiative in your home, workplace, neighborhood or community, such as recycling, pulling invasive species from a natural area or planting native plants.

Have patience with the landscape. Remember what they say: gardening is the slowest of the performing arts.

Rid your garden of a plant that is not thriving, doing what you want it to do or in other ways, disappoints you.

Ignore claims about plants that seem to good to be true. They are.

Stop applying insecticides, fungicides or herbicides in the lawn and garden before you know if the problem is an insect, fungus or weed. Always read and follow the label directions.

Try something new in the flower or vegetable garden.

May your garden be weed free in 2012.

Attend a garden show, lecture, garden tour or other nature related event. You might find a new plant to try, learn something new or just enjoy rubbing elbows with other gardeners.

Support a local park, nature area or other outdoor venture by donating time or talent.