Kay Easton wrote:
In article , Roger Van Loon
writes
Kay Easton wrote:
In article , Roger Van Loon
writes
Sorry, Alan, I'm not American :-)
But - I wonder if you really think there's no zone difference between
the Isles of Scilly and the top of Ben Nevis... :-))
There's a latitude difference between the Scillies and Ben Nevis, an
altitude difference between the base of Ben Nevis and the summit, and
then there's weather, which means that on any particular day it is quite
possible for the hottest place in the British Isles to be in the N of
Scotland.
So that earlier this year, I was gardening in a t-shirt while those 200
miles south were complaining of ice and rain.
--
Kay Easton
I don't doubt any of that.
But as long as you can grow large-leaved tree Rhododendrons in
Cornwall and in the West of Scotland, and not in the rest of the UK,
you have different climatic zones.
Not so?
Regards,
Roger.
Not necessarily so. Zones are arbitrary divisions are they not? So
whether you have separate climatic zones depends on how fine you make
your divisions.
OK, you are right, of course. Depending upon "how fine you make your
divisions", the whole of the UK (or Europe, or the whole northern
hemisphere) can be one climatic zone :-)
(not an USDA zone of course)
And the UK with its short winter day length and cold wet winters doesn't
fit happily into the UK zones.
I suppose by that last you mean "the USDA zones". Then, it's not a
question of fitting (happily or unhappily). It's just a question of
temperatures and statistics: they show what zone you are in, the whole
world over. Day length or wetness don't have anything to do with
that system :-))
You could just as well state that the US, with their continental
climate, don't fit well into their zone system :-)))
Of course (sigh) for the winter survival of plants there are also
other factors involved...
Regards,
Roger.
--
Walk tall, walk straight, and look the world right into the eye.
You're welcome to visit my gardening page:
http://users.pandora.be/roger.van.loon/gardenp.htm