On Sun, 27 Jul 2003 01:57:16 -0700, "Olushola"
wrote:

Okay, as you can see I'm new in this area, so maybe I did not ask the
question correctly. Based on what I've been reading in this group, it seems
there is a correlation between zone and the best plants for that region. I
thought every region had a designated zone. I was not successful in finding
an explanation on the WEB. Maybe someone can identify some sites that
discuss this.

USDA hardiness zones are based on the lowest average winter
temperature. Nothing about rainfall, heat, micro-climates, etc. It's
simply a rough guide (and included on many plant descriptions and
labels) to survivability over the winter.

'Sunset' magazine, distributed in and for the western states, has
developed much more detailed zone maps that take more factors into
account. So you will sometimes see 'Sunset zone X' in posts and
references. Their 'Western Garden Book' has long been a standard. Now
they have produced some similar regional manuals for other parts of
the country. See:

http://www.sunset.com/sunset/web/Boo...en_home_2.html

The blurb for the Northeastern volume specfically mentions DC. Highly
recommended.