RAINDEAR wrote:
please, can anyone tell me the usda zone of
a) the location of albuquerque, NM
b) if different, the area apx. 35 miles south of albuquerque (it CAN be
different, as the altitude is lower than albuq)

i'd really appreciate it so i can start planning all the goodies i'm gonna
be able to grow (am now in New Hamster zone 4a).
oh gosh, i'm so excited about this i've begun to dream of flowers every
night---it's so colourful---at times, i don't want to awaken!!!!

thanks, in advance.

Others have suggested using Sunset zones instead of USDA zones, but they
fail to indicate why.

The USDA zones are based entirely on winter low termperatures. While
this is important relative to the hardiness of certain plants and the
needs of other plants for winter chill, it fails to address such issues
as length of winter freezes, amount of summer heat, winds, humidity,
length of growing seasons, when is the wet season, etc.

The Sunset zones take more of the climate into account. For example, in
southern California, the difference between adjacent coastal and inland
climate zones might be determined by the amount of haze and humidity in
the summer coastal zone (caused by evaporation from the ocean), both of
which are missing in the inland zone. This can make a difference
whether fuschias can be grown.

The area you indicate is likely USDA zone 7: average annual minimum
temperature 0-10°F. It is likely Sunset zone 10: high desert areas of
Arizona and New Mexico, 75-100 nights below 32°F, winter chill lasting
as late as April, growing season lasting 185-225 days, summers not as
hot as California and Nevada deserts, summers sometimes wetter than
winters.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening pages at http://www.rossde.com/garden/