plant hardiness zone map<\/a>\u201d for the first time in a decade. <\/p>\nIt\u2019s a tool used by nurseries and everyday gardeners to determine which plants are most likely to survive in a particular climate.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The data comes in the form of a map and factors in everything from rainfall to winter temperatures and wind conditions. <\/p>\n
The Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) released the updated data in July last year.<\/p>\n
![\"Canada's](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779225669_255_default.jpg\")
Canada’s updated plant hardiness zone map. In eastern Ontario, places like Almonte increased by a full zone, while areas like Kemptville and Smiths Falls rose by half a zone. Ottawa and Kingston remained in zone 5A. (Natural Resources Canada)<\/p>\n
Plant hardiness zones are areas that largely have “similar climate conditions,” Pedlar said. They range from a stark 0A, where practically nothing grows, to the lush 9A.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSince plant survival and climate are so closely intertwined, it stands to reason those areas also have fairly similar plant composition as well,” he said.<\/p>\n
While the biggest changes to the map were in western Canada, places like Almonte in eastern Ontario increased by a full zone. <\/p>\n
Other growing areas around communities like Kemptville and Smiths Falls rose by half a zone.<\/p>\n
That means gardeners may now be able to grow cherries, pears and even some varieties of apricot that previously wouldn\u2019t have survived, Pedlar said.<\/p>\n
Ottawa and Kingston did not change, remaining in Zone 5A.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779225670_98_default.jpg\")
Colin Matassa is the manager of Robert Plante Greenhouses, and says it’s easy to figure out which plants are rated for which plant hardiness zone. (Cameron Mahler\/CBC)Gardeners, greenhouses adjusting<\/p>\n
At Robert Plante Greenhouses in east Ottawa, inventory has had to be updated regularly in order to keep up with the changing climate.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are more and more types of plants that you can plant for sure in our area,\u201d said manager Colin Matassa on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Matassa said staff are trained to know which plants will work in which zones, but it\u2019s also easy for gardeners to figure it out themselves.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn all our perennials, shrubs and trees, they all have information tags on them. It’ll say the zone on the back, whether it’s Zone 5, Zone 4 or Zone 3,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
It doesn’t mean Ontario is suddenly going to start growing bananas.- John Pedlar<\/p>\n
The May long weekend, Matassa said, is typically the greenhouse\u2019s busiest week.<\/p>\n
Ottawa’s Christine Dobson was among the dozens out perusing their selection Sunday, shopping for planters and perennials after recently redesigning her family’s yard.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe wanted to find a balance between the look that we were aiming for \u2026 but also being true to the climate that we live in,\u201d Dobson said.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779225670_294_default.jpg\")
John Pedlar is a research scientist with Natural Resources Canada. He and his colleagues updated Canada’s “plant hardiness zone map,” expanding the list of plants that will grow in certain regions. (Natural Resources Canada)<\/p>\n
While updated hardiness zones create opportunities for gardeners to experiment, Pedlar said it also reflects broader climate change.<\/p>\n
For now, the changes to the map remain minimal.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn’t mean Ontario is suddenly going to start growing bananas.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 3 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":653117,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[192,79],"class_list":["post-653116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-environment","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/653116","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=653116"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/653116\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/653117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=653116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=653116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=653116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Text](\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/a\/assets\/texttospeech.svg\")
<\/p>\n