By Joseph Sapia
Much talk has centered around “global warming” and “climate change” — what scientists point to as the effect of gases warming the temperature around the world.
Following this thinking, polar ice caps melt, sea levels rise and cause more flooding, and weather becomes more erratic.
But what has flown under the radar for years — and is attributable to global warming, according to area agriculture scientists — is something very close to home: the changing of local gardening zones. The area has been changing for years from a cooler Plant Hardiness Zone 6 to a warmer Zone 7.
“Zone 7 is a southern zone,” said Monmouth County Agricultural Agent William Sciarappa. “It hits coastal New Jersey from Cape May to Monmouth County. The basis is temperature, soil type, rainfall, summer heat.”
The federal Department of Agriculture Plant Hardiness map already shows the Two Rivers area as being in zone 7 – Zone 7b along the Bayshore and the Navesink and Shrewsbury Rivers, or the area’s yearly extreme lows averaging in the 5-degree to 10-degree range, and Zone 7a more inland, or in the 0- to 5-degree range.
The warmth of coastal waters creates the Zone 7, but “that has moved west,” or inland, said Diane Larson, the horticulturist in the county agricultural agent’s office.
“The climate’s just been getting warmer and warmer,” Sciarappa said.
“In passing, I’ve noticed things are blooming earlier,” said Cheryl Cuddihy, who grows vegetables and flowers at her Middletown home.
June Sustick, who grows vegetables and flowers at her Fair Haven home, said her camellia Ice Angel shrub bloomed in February. Normally, Sustick said, it should bloom “a little later.”
Up to 10 or 15 years ago, the Monmouth County area was a legitimate Zone 6, or the yearly extreme lows in the minus 10- to 0-degree range, Sciarappa said. Since then, the area has been transitioning to Zone 7, Sciarappa said.
Aside from the overall warming, the weather is changing.
“The weather seems to have gotten more erratic because of global climate change,” Sciarappa said.
Gardeners see this, too.
“The weather is less predictable than it used to be,” said Maya Speelmans, 61, who grows flowers at her Rumson home and is the outgoing horticulture chair of the Rumson Garden Club. “You can’t predict weather anymore.”
In the 1970s, annual precipitation was in the 35- to 40-inch range, Sciarappa said. Then, in the 1980s and 1990s, according to Sciarappa, yearly precipitation was 45 to 50 inches.
“Now, we’re getting 55 to 60 (inches),” Sciarappa said. “We’re turning into a rainforest. The spring was a good example – it kept raining, kept farmers out of the field.”
Another part of the erratic weather is concentrated precipitation over a few days, followed by weeks of droughty weather, Sciarappa said.
The erratic weather – for example, the recent cooler spell – could play into when gardeners plant vegetables whose plants fruit in the summer, such as tomatoes. Sciarappa said he is looking to June 1 as the planting date, rather than his old view of May 15.
On the other hand, the transition from Zone 6 to Zone 7 has the benefit of a longer vegetable growing season.
“As far as vegetable gardening, you get a longer growing season, which is very nice, which means more vegetables for you,” Larson said.
Spinach, for example, can be planted in September and harvested all winter, Larson said.
The part of Monmouth County west of Freehold generally remains in Zone 6, specifically Zone 6b, or with yearly extreme lows averaging minus 5 degrees to 0 degrees.
Monmouth County generally has 180 “growing days,” or the likely number of days between a garden plant freezing, Sciarappa said.
Some gardeners follow the garden zones, some follow them but experiment with more southern species and some do not pay attention.
Adria Ayres of Little Silver is a flower gardener. Ayres does not necessarily go by gardening zones. Instead, she relies on what is sold locally.
“Most of the places sell what goes with this environment,” said Ayres, 61. “I don’t have any problems.”
Larson, though, says be aware of what is being sold, making sure to know the hardiness.
“The majority of people, I still think, trust their nurseries,” Speelmans said.
“The Big Box stores are not locally oriented by (plant hardiness) zone,” Sciarappa said.
Because local garden centers deal with a more specific area, they “know better,” Sciarappa said.
Ed Brock Jr., whose family owns Brock Farms Home and Garden World in Colts Neck, said his business normally labels plants with appropriate zones and informs customers of plant appropriateness.
“Here, I think we go over and above to give people the right information,” Brock said.
Recently, Brock said, he advised customers to hold off on buying Vinca, unless they were somehow protecting them from the elements, because of a cold and wind snap coming through.
“If you’re honest with people, it goes a long way,” Brock said.
Some gardeners are risk-takers.
“I really think it’s (the zone designation) influx,” said Joan Cox, 78, a flower gardener from Oceanport. “What I do is buy one of a plant. If it lives for a season or two, then I’m confident to buy more.”
“I think true gardeners have been playing around with the gardening zones all along,” Larson said.
That is, gardeners have been experimenting with Zone 7.
“If there’s a plant that’s marginally hardy , a person’s going to plant it,” Larson said.
“Southern magnolias, you used to never see them (around here),” Larson said. “Now, you see them all over. I’m buying one. I want a nice big one.”
But Irene Wanat of Rumson, who grows flowers and shrubs and has worked at a garden center, questioned the Zone 7 designation, thinking of her area as 6b.
“I try not to be tempted by plants that are Zone 7,” said Wanat, saying gardeners can even lose Zone 6 plants.
Purple mountain grass, for example, succeeds in Ocean County, but not up here, Wanat said. Another failure up here, Wanat said, is Homestead Purple verbena.
“Those are examples of people wishing and hoping,” Wanat said. “But hoping isn’t going to make it so.”
Bob LaCosta, 82, who grows shrubs at his Holmdel home, understands the debate.
“Some people say 6, but I say 7,” LaCosta said.
If the transition from Zone 6 is not here, it appears to be coming – at least according to the Rutgers scientists. And, according to Larson and Sciarappa, it is because of global warming.
“I think more and more we’re going to see southern species fit more onto our plant palate,” Sciarappa said.
