Special Publication-06-24
A Contribution to the Series:
COMPUTER-AIDED PLANT SELECTION
ADAPTED LANDSCAPE TREES FOR NORTHEASTERN NEVADA
USDA PLANT HARDINESS ZONE 6
Jay Paxson, Extension Educator, Elko County
USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 6 (A & B):
Average winter low temperatures from -10° F
to 0°F. Characteristic U. S. cities: St. Louis,
Missouri; Lebanon, Pennsylvania;
McMinnville, Tennessee; Branson, Missouri;
Lebanon, Missouri; extensive portions of
Central and Northwest Nevada.1
A New Plant Selection Technology for
Gardeners and the Green Industry
In recent years, computer programs have
been developed to assist the gardening public
with the task of species selection. A premier
example of this new technology is SelecTree A Tree Selection Guide, maintained by the
Urban Forest Ecosystems Institute (UFEI) at
California Polytechnic State University (Cal
Poly), San Luis Obispo, California. It is an
interactive program designed to match specific
tree species to particular sites based on
compatible characteristics. It is funded by the
California Department of Forestry and Fire
COMMON NAME
Trident maple
Hedge maple
Japanese snakebark maple
Monroe vine maple
Cut-leaf vine maple
Amur maple
Flame amur maple
Norway maple
SCIENTIFIC NAME
Protection through the Urban and Community
Forest Funds. SelecTree presently searches a
database of 1,481 trees and provides 49
selection criteria. Cal Poly cautions gardeners
that, “Lists of trees generated by SelecTree
should be viewed as a guide, not as the final
authority in tree selection.” 2
http://selectree.calpoly.edu/
The SelecTree program has the ability to
manage a large number of attributes. The
greater the number of attributes selected, the
smaller the output will be. In the case of this
study, the 224 species and cultivars that follow
were generated by the SelecTree program
based on only five attributes. The selected
attributes utilized in this search are: USDA
Hardiness Zone: “6 (‘A’ + ‘B’)”; Exposure “Full
Sun”; Soil Moisture “Moist”; Soil Texture
“Clay”; and Soil pH “Slightly Alkaline”.2 The
results are as follows:
USDA ZONE
SUNSET ZONE
Acer buergeranum
Acer campestre
4-9
4-8
2-9; 14-17; 20-21
1-9; 14
Acer capillipes
5-7
3-9; 12; 14-24; 30-34; 39
5-9
3-9
3-9
3-7
1-6; 14-17
2-9; 14-17; 20-21
1-9; 14-16
1-9; 14-17
Acer circinatum
Acer ginnala
Acer ginnala
Acer platanoides
CULTIVAR
'Monroe'
'Flame'
Cleveland maple
Columnare maple
Emerald Queen maple
Summer Shade maple
Red maple
Autumn Flame red maple
Columnar red maple
Gerling red maple
Red Sunset red maple
Silver maple
Sugar maple
Green Mountain sugar maple
Newton Sentry sugar maple
Temple's Upright sugar maple
Red horsechestnut
Briottii red horsechestnut
Common horsechestnut
Tree-of-Heaven
Silk tree
Silk tree
Italian alder
Black alder
Japanese angelica
Devil's walking stick
Pawpaw / Custard apple
European white birch
Japanese white birch
Paper mulberry
Incense cedar
Colossal chestnut
Sweet chestnut
Spanish chestnut
Common catalpa
Western catalpa
Cedar of Lebanon
Sugar hackberry
Cyprus cedar / Cyprian cedar
Common hackberry
Eastern redbud
White eastern redbud
Purple-leaf eastern redbud
Western redbud
Judas tree
Chinese fringe tree
Acer platanoides
Acer platanoides
Acer platanoides
Acer platanoides
Acer rubrum
Acer rubrum
Acer rubrum
Acer rubrum
Acer rubrum
Acer saccharinum
Acer saccharum
Acer saccharum
Acer saccharum
Acer saccharum
Aesculus carnea
Aesculus carnea
Aesculus hippocastanum
Ailanthus altissima
Albizia julibrissin
Albizia julibrissin
Alnus cordata
Alnus glutinosa
Aralia elata / A. chinensis
Aralia spinosa
'Cleveland'
'Columnare'
'Emerald'
'Summer Shade'
'Autumn Flame'
'Columnare'
'Ferling'
'Red Sunset'
'Green Mountain'
'Newton Sentry'
'Temple's Upright'
'Briottii'
'Rosea'
Asimina triloba
Betula pendula
Betula platyphylla japonica
Broussonetia papyrifera
Calocedrus decurrens
Castanea
Castanea sativa
Catalpa bignonioides
Catalpa speciosa
Cedrus libani
Celtis laevigata
Cedrus brevifolia
Celtis occidentalis
Cercis canadensis
Cercis canadensis
Cercis canadensis
Cercis occidentalis
Cercis silaquastrum
Chionanthus retusus
'Colossal'
'Alba'
'Forest Pansy'
4-7
4-7
4-7
4-7
3-9
4-8
3-9
4-8
4-8
3-8
3-8
3-8
3-8
3-8
4-9
3-7
4-7
4-8
6-10
6-10
5-9
3-7
3-8
4-9
1-9; 14-17
1-9; 14-17
1-9; 14-17
1-9; 14-17
1-9; 14-17
1-9; 14-17
1-9; 14-17
1-9; 14-17
1-9; 14-17
1-9; 12; 14-24
1-10; 14-20
1-10; 14-20
1-10; 14-20
1-10; 14-20
1-10; 12; 14-17
1-10; 12; 14-17
1-10; 14; 14-17
1-24
4-23
4-23
8-9; 12-24
1-10; 14-24
1-10; 14-24
2-24
5-8
3-6
4-7
6-11
5-8
2-9; 14; 18-21; 28-41
1-12; 14-24
1-11; 14-24
3-24
1-12; 14-24
4-8
4-11
5-9
4-8
5-8
5-9
5-8
3-9
4-9
4-9
4-9
4-9
5-9
3-9
1-9; 14-17
1-9; 14-17
1-24
1-24
3-10; 14-24
2-20
5-24; 32
1-24
1-24
1-24
1-24
1-24
3-19
2-9; 14-24
Giant dogwood
Autumn Glory hawthorn
Toba hawthorn
Cockspur thorn
English hawthorn
Paul's Scarlet English
hawthorn
Carriere hawthorn
Washington hawthorn
Cornus controversa
Crataegus
Crataegus 'toba'
Crataegus crus-galli
Crataegus laevigata
Japanese cryptomeria
Plume cryptomeria
Leyland cypress
Naylor's Blue Leyland cypress
Atlas broom
Quince
American persimmon
Russian olive
Silverberry
Evergreen euonymus
American beech
European beech
White ash
Crataegus laevigata
Crataegus lavallei
Crataegus phaenopyrum /
Crataegus cordata
Cryptomeria japonica
Cryptomeria japonica
Cupressocyparis leylandii
Cupressocyparis leylandii
Cytisus battandieri
Cydonia oblonga
Diospyros virginiana
Elaeagnus angustifolia
Elaeagnus pungens
Euonymus japonicus
Fagus grandifolia
Fagus sylvatica
Fraxinus americana
Autumn Applause white ash
European ash
Holotricha ash
Flowering ash
Raywood ash
Marshall Seedless green ash
Summitt green ash
Green ash / red ash
Mt. Aetna broom
Maidenhair tree
Autumn Gold maidenhair tree
Fairmont maidenhair tree
Imperial honey locust
Kentucky coffee tree
Rose of Sharon
Japanese raisin tree
Idesia
English walnut
English holly
American holly
Perny holly
Chinese juniper
Fraxinus americana
Fraxinus excelsior
Fraxinus holotricha
Fraxinus ornus
Fraxinus oxycarpa
Fraxinus pennsylvanica
Fraxinus pennsylvanica
Fraxinus pennsylvanica
Genista aethnensis
Ginkgo biloba
Ginkgo biloba
Ginkgo biloba
Gleditsia triacanthos inermis
Gymnocladus dioica
Hibiscus syriacus
Hovenia dulcis
Idesia polycarpa
Juglans regia
Ilex aquifolium
Ilex opaca
Ilex pernyi
Juniperus chinensis
'Autumn Glory'
'Toba'
'Crimson Cloud'
'Paul's Scarlet'
'Elegans'
'Naylor's Blue'
'Autumn
Applause'
'Raywood'
'Marshall'
'Summitt'
'Autumn Gold'
'Fairmont'
'Imperial'
5-8
4-7
4-7
3-7
4-8
3-9; 14; 18-19
A-2; A-3; 2-12; 14-17
A-3; 1-10
1-11; 14-17
1-11; 14-17
4-8
4-7
2-12; 14-17
3-12; 14-21
4-8
6-9
6-9
6-10
6-10
5-8
5-8
4-9
3-8
6-10
5-11
3-8
4-7
3-9
3-12; 14-17
4-9; 14-24
4-9; 14-24
3-24
3-24
5-6
1-21
3-9; 14-16; 18-23
1-3; 7-14; 18-19
4-24
4-13; 18-20
1-6
2-9; 14-21
1-11; 14-17
4-9
5-8
6-9
6-9
5-8
3-8
3-8
3-9
6-7
3-8
3-8
3-8
4-8
3-8
5-10
6-10
6-8
5-9
5-9
5-9
7-10
4-9
1-11; 14-17
7-24
4-24
3-9; 14-17
7-24
1-6
1-6
1-6
4-9; 12-22
1-10; 12; 14-24
1-10; 12; 14-24
1-10; 12; 14-24
1-16; 18-20
1-3;7-10; 12-16; 18-21
1-21
1-9; 14-24
4-9; 14-24
1-9; 14-23
4-9; 12-24
2-9; 15-16; 20-23
4-9; 14-24
1-24
Hollywood juniper
Rocky Mountain juniper
Eastern red cedar
Goldenrain tree
Kew goldenrain tree
European larch
Japanese larch
Western larch
California privet
American sweetgum
Burgundy sweetgum
Palo Alto sweetgum
Tulip tree
Osage-orange
Victoria magnolia
Kobus magnolia
Purple lily magnolia
Lily magnolia
Merrill magnolia
Else Frye magnolia
Saucer magnolia
Alba saucer magnolia
Burgundy saucer magnolia
Lilliputian saucer magnolia
San Jose saucer magnolia
Star magnolia
Watson magnolia
Hopa crabapple
Red Jade crabapple
Arnold crabapple
Carmine crabapple
Columnar crabapple
Japanese flowering crabapple
Red Jewel crabapple
Tea crabapple
Dawn redwood
White mulberry
Sour gum
Holly osmanthus
European hop hornbeam
American hop hornbeam
Empress tree
Amur corktree
Norway spruce
Juniperus chinensis
Juniperus scopulorum
Juniperus virginiana
Koelreuteria paniculata
Koelreuteria paniculata
Larix decidua
Larix kaempferi
Larix occidentalis
Ligustrum ovalifolium
Liquidambar styraciflua
Liquidambar styraciflua
Liquidambar styraciflua
Liriodendron tulipifera
Maclura pomifera
Magnolia grandiflora
Magnolia kobus
Magnolia liliflora
Magnolia liliflora
Magnolia loebneri
Magnolia salicifolia
Magnolia soulangiana
Magnolia soulangiana
Magnolia soulangiana
Magnolia soulangiana
Magnolia soulangiana
Magnolia stellata
Magnolia watsonii
Malus x 'hopa'
Malus x 'red jade'
Malus arnoldiana
Malus atrosanguinea
Malus baccata
Malus floribunda
Malus floribunda
Malus hupehensis
Metasequoia
glyptostroboides
Morus alba
Nyssa sylvatica
Osmanthus heterophyllus
Ostrya carpinifolia
Ostrya virginiana
Paulownia tomentosa
Phellodendron amurense
Picea abies
'Torulosa'
several varieties
'Kew'
'Burgundy'
'Palo Alto'
'Victoria'
'Wada's Memory'
'Nigra'
'Merrill'
'Else Frye'
'Alba'
'Burgundy'
'Lilliputian'
'San Jose'
several varieties
'Columnaris'
'Red Jewel'
'Ilicifolius'
4-11
4-9
2-9
5-9
5-9
3-6
4-7
4-7
5-9
3-8
3-8
3-8
5-9
5-9
6-10
5-8
5-8
5-8
4-9
4-9
5-9
5-9
5-9
5-9
5-9
5-9
5-9
4-8
3-8
3-8
3-8
3-8
4-7
4-7
4-8
1-24
1-24
1-24
2-21
2-21
1-9; 14-17
1-9; 14-19
A-3; 1-7
4-24
1-9; 14-24
1-9; 14-24
1-9;14-24
1-10;14-23
1-24
4-12; 14-24
1-9; 14-24
2-9; 14-24
2-9; 14-24
2-9; 14-24
2-9; 14-21
1-10; 14-24
2-9; 14-24
2-9; 14-24
2-9; 14-24
2-9; 14-24
1-9; 14-24
4-9; 14-24
1-11; 14-24
1-11; 14-24
1-11; 14-24
1-11; 14-24
1-11; 14-21
1-11; 14-21
1-11; 14-21
1-11; 14-21
5-8
3-9
4-9
6-9
4-8
3-9
5-9
3-8
2-7
3-24
1-24
2-10; 14-21
3-10; 14-24
3-9; 14-17
1-9; 14-17; 28; 31-43
1-24
1-9; 14-24
1-6; 14-17
Englemann spruce
White spruce
Oriental spruce
Colorado spruce
Sitka spruce
Lacebark pine
Mexican pinyon pine
Japanese red pine
Tanyosho pine
Mondell pine
Limber pine
Singleleaf pinyon pine
Austrian black pine
Japanese white pine
Table mountain pine
White pine
Scotch pine
Japanese black pine
Chinese pistache
London plane tree
Bloodgood London plane tree
American sycamore
Beverly Hills arborvitae
White poplar
Bolleana poplar
Lombardy poplar
Pyramidal Simon poplar
Accolade cherry
Flowering plum
Purple-leaf / Pissard plum
Newport purple-leaf plum
Thundercloud purple-leaf plum
Thundercloud cherry plum
Sour cherry
English laurel
Amur chokecherry
Japanese Flowering Apricot
Peach
Sargent cherry
Birch bark cherry
Paperbark cherry
Kwansan Japanese flowering
cherry
Kwansan Japanese flowering
cherry
Picea engelmannii
Picea glauca
Picea orientalis
Picea pungens
Picea sitchensis
Pinus bungeana
Pinus cembroides
Pinus densiflora
Pinus densiflora
Pinus eldarica
Pinus flexilis
Pinus monophylla
Pinus nigra
Pinus parviflora
Pinus pungens
Pinus strobus
Pinus sylvestris
Pinus thunbergiana
Pistacia chinensis
Platanus acerifolia
Platanus acerifolia
Platanus occidentalis
Platycladus orientalis
Populus alba
Populus alba
Populus nigra
Populus simonii
Prunus
Prunus blireiana
Prunus cerasifera
Prunus cerasifera
2-5
2-6
4-7
4-7
6-8
4-8
5-8
3-7
3-7
6-9
4-7
6-8
5-8
4-7
6-8
3-7
3-8
6-8
6-9
5-8
4-9
4-9
4-9
4-9
3-8
3-9
2-5
4-8
5-9
5-8
4-8
1-6; 14-17
1-6; 14-17
2-9; 14-17; 32-41
1-10; 14-17
4-6; 14-17
1-9; 12-24
n/a
4-9; 14-24
4-9; 14-21
4-24
1-11; 14-21; 32-43
1-24
2-12; 14-21; 32-41
2-9 ;14-24
5-9; 14-17
1-9; 14-24
1-7; 14-24
1-8; 14-24
4-16; 18-23
2-24; 31-41
2-24
1-24
1-24
1-24
1-24
1-24
1-24
2-9; 14-17
3-22; 32-34 ;39
3-22; 28; 31-34; 39
2-22
5-8
3-8
6-9
2-6
6-8
5-8
5-8
3-22; 28; 31-34; 39
1-3; 5-11; 14-16
4-9; 14-24
1-3; 10
2-9; 12-22
2-24
1-7; 14-17
Prunus serrula
5-6
1-7; 14-16
Prunus serrulata
5-6
2-7; 14-20
Prunus cerasifera
Prunus cerasus
Prunus laurocerasus
Prunus maacki
Prunus mume
Prunus persica
Prunus sargentii
'Umbraculifera'
'Bloodgood'
'Beverlyensis'
'Pyramidalis'
'Italica'
'Fastigiata'
'Acolade'
'Atropurpurea'
'Newport'
'Thundercloud'
2-7; 14-20
Prunus serrulata
'Kanzan'
5-6
Kwansan Japanese flowering
cherry
Autumn flowering cherry
Weeping Higan cherry
Western chokecherry
Akebono flowering cherry
Daybreak Yoshino cherry
Yoshino flowering cherry
Potomac flowering cherry
Douglas-fir
Chinese wingnut
Lalandei pyracantha
Flowering ornamental pear
Aristocrat flowering pear
Bradford pear
Redspire ornamental pear
Common pear
Sawtooth oak
Swamp white oak
Scarlet oak
Oregon white oak
Bur oak / mossy cup oak
Pin oak
Willow oak
Red oak
Northern red oak
Shumard red oak
Tallhedge / alder buckthorn
Glossy buckthorn
Staghorn sumac
Idaho locust
Black locust
Golden weeping willow
Weeping willow
Wisconsin weeping willow
Hankow / corkscrew willow
Curly willow / Pekin willow
Twisted Hankow willow
Giant sequoia
Japanese pagoda tree /
Chinese scholar tree
Korean mountain-ash
European mountain-ash
Japanese lilac
Common lilac
Prunus sekiyarn
Prunus subhirtella
Prunus subhirtella
Prunus virginiana
'Kwanzan'
'Autumnalis'
'Pendula'
5-6
5-8
5-8
3-8
2-7; 14-20
2-7; 14-20
2-7; 14-20
1-3; 10
Prunus yedoensis
'Akebono'
5-8
2-7; 14-20
5-8
5-6
6-11
6-9
5-9
5-9
5-9
5-9
4-8
5-9
4-8
4-9
6-9
2-7; 14-20
2-7; 10; 14-17; 34-41
5-24
2-24
2-9; 14-21; 28; 31-41
2-9; 14-21; 28; 31-41
2-9; 14-21; 28; 31-41
2-9; 14-21; 28; 31-41
2-9; 14-21; 28; 31-41
2-7; 29-41
1-3; 10
2-24; 31-41
4-6; 15-17
Quercus macrocarpa
Quercus palustris
Quercus phellos
3-8
4-8
6-9
1-11; 14-24; 29-45
1-24
1-4; 6-16; 18-21
Quercus rubra
5-8
Quercus shumardii
5-9
1-12; 14-24; 31-45
4-9; 12; 14-17; 26; 28-45;
37; 39
Prunus yedoensis
Pseudotsuga menziesii
Pterocarya stenoptera
Pyracantha coccinea
Pyrus calleryana
Pyrus calleryana
Pyrus calleryana
Pyrus calleryana
Pyrus communis
Quercus acutissima
Quercus bicolor
Quercus coccinea
Quercus garryana
'Lalandei'
'Aristocrat'
'Bradford'
'Redspire'
Rhamnus frangula
Rhus typhina
'Rolumaris'
3-7
3-9
1-7; 10-11; 32-45
1-10; 14-17
Robinia ambigua
Robinia pseudoacacia
Salix alba tristis /
S. babylonica aurea
Salix babylonica
Salix blanda
'Idahoensis'
4-8
4-8
1-24
1-24
4-8
4-8
5-9
1-24
1-24
2-24; 30-41
4-8
4-8
5-9
3-24; 30-34; 39
3-24; 30-34; 39
1-24
5-8
4-7
3-6
4-7
3-7
2-24; 31-41
1-10; 14-17
1-10; 14-17
1-12; 14-16
1-11
Salix matsudana
Salix matsudana
Sequoiadendron giganteum
Sophora japonica
Sorbus alnifolia
Sorbus aucuparia
Syringa reticulata
Syringa vulgaris
'Tortuosa'
Bald cypress
Montezuma bald cypress
English yew
American arborvitae
Western red cedar
American linden
Littleleaf linden
Greeenspire littleleaf linden
June Bride Littleleaf linden
Rancho littleleaf linden
Crimean linden
American elm
Smooth-leaf elm
Drake Chinese elm
Siberian elm
Japanese snowball
Blackhaw
Chaste tree
Sawleaf zelkova
Chinese jujube
Taxodium distichum
Taxodium mucronatum
Taxus baccata
Thuja occidentalis
Thuja plicata
Tilia americana
Tilia cordata
Tilia cordata
Tilia cordata
Tilia cordata
Tilia euchlora
Ulmus americana
Ulmus carpinifolia
Ulmus parvifolia
Ulmus pumila
Viburnum plicatum
Viburnum prunifolium
Vitex agnus-castus
Zelkova serrata
Ziziphus jujuba
Interestingly, a large number of tree
species and cultivars that are widely
recognized locally as good performers in
USDA Zones 4 and 5 were omitted from this
SelecTree output for Zone 6. In most cases,
plants adapted to Zones 4 or 5 should perform
well in Zone 6 because Zone 6 represents a
less harsh environment. In an effort to ensure
that this study represents a reasonably
comprehensive list of adapted tree species and
cultivars for Zone 6, additional plants are
included in the supplemental list below. Plant
species are listed only if they satisfy two
criteria: 1) recommendation in at least two
regional publications2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 and 2)
recognized adaptation to USDA Hardiness
Zone 6. Hardiness of plants was checked
against two comprehensive industry and
Internet standards: Dave’s Garden website4
and Edward Gilman and Dennis Watson’s “680
Tree Fact Sheets” Web pages at the University
of Florida.13
‘Greenspire’
‘June Bride’
‘Rancho’
‘Drake’
4-9
6-11
5-7
2-7
4-8
3-8
4-7
3-7
3-7
4-7
3-8
2-9
5-7
2-10; 12-24; 26; 28-43
5-6; 8-10; 12-14
3-9; 14-24; 32-33
2-9; 15-17; 21-24
1-9; 14-24
1-17
1-17
1-17
1-17
1-17
1-17
1-11; 14-21
2-11; 14-21; 31-41
5-10
5-9
5-9
3-9
6-10
5-8
6-9
3-24; 26-35; 37-39
1-24; 26-45
3-9; 14-24; 31-35; 37; 39
1-9; 14-21
4-24
3-21; 28-35; 37; 39
7-16; 18-24
Twenty-eight species and cultivars are
listed. Even when the SelecTree-generated list
and those below are combined, they should not
be considered exhaustive. As a rule of thumb,
the more times a species is listed in the
literature, the more it has been studied, and the
more likely it can be relied upon to be
successful in a particular area. Some plants,
even though listed in the SelecTree list, the
supplemental list, and many other lists, simply
may not perform well on your site. Microclimate
may play a very large role at your location.
Also, some plants listed below may be poor
performers because they are disease-prone or
poorly adapted. They may also be weedy or
invasive. A little local research is strongly
urged to ensure that the tree you have chosen
has been successfully grown in your area. The
reasons for failure can often be attributed to
cultural conditions, but in our region, the
problem is often a matter of soils and/or
marginal hardiness (i.e., poorly or barely
adapted to the conditions of a given area).
SUPPLEMENTAL LIST FROM THE LITERATURE
Adapted Tree Species
Common Name
White fir
Rocky Mountain maple
Boxelder
Globe Norway maple
Redfruited tree-of-Heaven
Hawthorn
Black hawthorn
Red King Russian olive
Blue ash
Honeylocust
Thornless honeylocust
Redberry juniper
Western juniper
Utah juniper
Flowering crabapple
Bechtel crabapple
Dolge crabapple
Dorothea crabapple
Radiant crabapple
Colorado blue spruce
Lodgepole pine
Pinyon pine
Bristlecone pine
Mugo pine
Ponderosa pine
European bird cherry
Chinkapin oak
Silverleaf buffaloberry
It must be understood that any listing of
plants, whether computer-aided or in print, is
not and cannot be exhaustive for any particular
area. It is in every gardener’s nature to wonder
if a particular plant species could be grown
where he or she lives. Thus, new trials take
place continuously, whether they are sciencebased or informal. Professional horticulturists
continually search for, discover, and propagate
new species and cultivars, which then undergo
official and unofficial hardiness trials. The
Scientific Name
Abies concolor
Acer glabrum
Acer negundo
Acer platanoides ‘Globosum’
Ailanthus altissima ‘Erythrocarpa’
Crataegus spp
Crataegus douglasii
Eleagnus angustifolia ‘Red King’
Fraxinus quadrangulata
Gleditsia triacanthos
Gleditsia triacanthos var. inermis
Juniperus monosperma
Juniperus occidentalis
Juniperus osteosperma
Malus hybrids
Malus ‘Bechtel’
Malus ‘Dolge’
Malus ‘Dorothea’
Malus ‘Radiant’
Picea pungens glauca
Pinus contorta var. laitfolia
Pinus edulis
Pinus longaeva
Pinus mugo
Pinus ponderosa
Prunus padus
Quercus muhlenbergii
Shepherdia argentea
SelecTree program may not be the ‘final
authority’ in plant selection, but it is a powerful
tool to help us determine which plants are most
likely to prosper where we live and garden.
APPENDIX: GARDENING IN NEVADA
The Hardiness Zone Systems
The three most commonly used plant
hardiness zone systems are the USDA’s Plant
Hardiness Zones1, Sunset Publishing
Corporation’s Climate Zones11, and the
American Horticultural Society’s (AHS) HeatZones.12 Each of these was developed using
long-term meteorological data and by applying
somewhat different criteria. For example, the
USDA Plant Hardiness Zone system consists
of 11 zones and 9 subdivisions and is based
on the average winter low temperatures that
occur within the respective zones.1 The USDA
system covers the United States, Canada, and
Mexico.
The Sunset Publishing Corporation’s
Climate Zones (through their publications
Sunset Western Garden Book and the Sunset
National Garden Book) is composed of 45
Climate Zones of the United States together
with narrow slices of Canada and Mexico
where they adjoin at the international
boundary.12 Sunset’s Climate Zone Map is
based on a complex set of factors that include
winter minimum temperatures, as well as
summer high temperatures, altitude, proximity
to seacoast or mountains, rainfall, relative
humidity, aridity, and the length of the growing
season.11,12
Finally, the American Horticultural
Society’s system, the Plant-Heat Zone Map,
consists of 11 zones and is based on the
average number of days above 86°F—the
temperature at which certain cellular proteins
can be damaged in many plants. The AHS
system covers the continental United States,
plus Alaska and Hawaii.13
In coordination with the respective
hardiness zone systems, plant materials of
every kind have been experimentally grown
over many years throughout North America to
determine their inherent hardiness. Today, new
species and cultivar introductions continuously
undergo extensive trials so that they can be
added to the growing databases. The result of
this long-term applied research can be found in
a great many plant reference books, gardening
books, and catalogs, as well as on
innumerable Internet sites dedicated to
horticulture. 1,2,11,12,13,14,15,16
The Art and Science of Gardening
Gardening has long been a pastime of
friends and neighbors sharing an enjoyable
and productive hobby. They traded lore, plant
divisions, hand-me-downs, and handharvested seed. Generous gardeners often
‘potted-up’ desirable specimens for friends,
neighbors, and relatives. Travelers, while on
the road, saw attractive or interesting plants
and wondered if they might grow where they
lived. Whether plants were moved a single mile
or a thousand, they sometimes grew
spectacularly, but sometimes failed miserably.
To early gardeners, the art and science of
gardening must have seemed much more a
matter of trial-and-error than science. As the
country expanded westward, gardeners began
to recognize a critical and practical need: how
can I tell what plants can be reliably grown
here at home as well as elsewhere in the
country? Put another way, will plants from my
‘Aunt Mabel’s’ home in Connecticut grow here
in northeastern Nevada? Well, maybe.
Limitations of Environment
Environmental conditions can impose
severe limits on the success of plants. Many
factors could be listed, but among the most
important are soil moisture, soil pH, extremes
of temperature, and soil salinity. In
northeastern Nevada, all plants require
supplemental water during their establishment
period and most will require periodic watering
during periods of drought, high temperatures,
high winds, and even periodically during
autumn and winter. Excessively high or low pH
(relative acidity or alkalinity) can limit the
success of a great many plant species. For
instance, Vaccinium spp (blueberry) grow best
when soil pH is between 4.5 and 4.817, while
other species, such as sagebrush (Artemisia
spp) can grow in soil with a pH as high as
10.0!18 However, some plant species such as
green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica) are
capable of growing in a wide range of soil pH,
from 5.0 to 8.0.19
Another limiting factor is extreme cold
and heat, either daily or seasonal. Tender
semi-tropical plants such as Hibiscus rosasinensis (tropical hibiscus) cannot tolerate daily
temperatures that fall below 20°F, and
Philodendron bipinnatifidum (cut-leaf or tree
philodendron) cannot tolerate temperatures
that fall below 30°F.20 On the other hand, as
with the effects of soils, some plants such as
spruce (Picea spp) and beech (Fagus spp) are
capable of good performance in a wide range
of temperatures that can include relatively hot
summers and very cold winters. Such
adaptable plants are known to have a large
climatic amplitude.
Soil salinity, the last in our group of
limiting environmental conditions, affects a
wide range of tree species. Certain species are
capable of tolerating relatively high salinity
levels. Others are capable of growing only in
low salinity soils. For instance, Norway maple
(Acer platanoides), honeylocust (Gleditsia
triacanthos), black locust (Robinia
pseudoacacia), and red oak (Quercus rubra)
are considered high tolerance species. Low
tolerance species include pin oak (Quercus
palustris), apple and crabapple cultivars (Malus
spp), silver maple (Acer saccharinum), and
American linden (Tilia americana). Extremes
of cold, heat, and salinity can limit the success
of many plants, making careful planning and
species selection essential.
The Place Where We Live: Weather vs.
Climate
equivalent, but they are related. Weather is the
state of the atmosphere at a given time and
place (i.e., a snapshot of the atmospheric
variables today or over the space of a few
days).21 Climate, on the other hand, is the
weather averaged over a long period of time,
usually a minimum of 30 years.22 In order for
plants to prosper, plant material selections for
garden, landscape, reclamation, agriculture,
and other applications must be well adapted to
the conditions where they are planted. Soils
can be improved, but little can be done to alter
climate. As a result, to be successful, we’re
obliged to adapt our gardening to suit our
particular set of climatic variables.
To ensure that the plants we place in
our garden and landscapes thrive, we try to
give them the best ‘home’ we can. We can
provide them with richly amended soil, macroand micronutrients, adequate moisture, pest
control as required, proper pruning, and proper
placement in the landscape. But if the plants
are not adapted to the climate in which they’re
planted, they’re probably destined to wither
and die. Therefore, before we can begin, we
must know what to expect in terms of climate.
Fortunately, researchers have developed the
three major systems that map out the plant
hardiness zones of the United States, Canada,
and Mexico. Consulting any of these will help
us locate our home zone and provide us with a
basis for selecting plant materials having the
best chance of success in our area.
The terms ‘weather’ and ‘climate’ are
often used interchangeably. They are not
REFERENCES:
1
Cathey, Henry M. U. S. Department of Agriculture
Miscellaneous Publication No. 1475, “USDA Plant Hardiness
Zone Map.” 1990; Web version, March 1998, Revised March
2001, U.S. National Arboretum, Ramon Jordan, Ed. U. S.
Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, U. S.
National Arboretum, Washington, DC.
http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/ushzmap.html
2
Reimer, Jeffrey L. and Walter Mark. "SelecTree: A Tree
Selection Guide." http://selectree.calpoly.edu/ (Date Visited: 27
July, 2006).
3
Dietz, Tony. “Select Tree Species for Northeastern Nevada.”
Nevada Division of Forestry, Elko, NV. Sept. 2002.
4
Davis, Rodney L. “Commonly Planted Evergreens in Lander
County.” University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, Fact
Sheet 01-49.
5
Davis, Rodney L. “Commonly Planted Large Deciduous Trees
in Lander County.” University of Nevada Cooperative
Extension, Fact Sheet 01-50.
6
Davis, Rodney L. “Commonly Planted Small Deciduous Trees
in Lander County.” University of Nevada Cooperative
Extension, Fact Sheet 01-51.
7
Johnson, Wayne S and Jason Davison. “Deciduous Trees for
Northeast Nevada.” Informal Fact Sheet, University of Nevada
Cooperative Extension. Undated.
8
Johnson, Wayne S and John Balliette. “Hardy, Drought
Tolerant and Moderately Salt Tolerant Trees for Northern
Nevada.” University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, Special
Publication 88-73.
9
Johnson, Wayne S “Salt Tolerant Trees for Northeast
Nevada.” Informal Fact Sheet, University of Nevada
Cooperative Extension. Undated.
10
Johnson, Wayne S and Jay Davison. “Selected Evergreen
Trees for Elko, Nevada.” Informal Fact Sheet, University of
Nevada Cooperative Extension. Undated.
11
Brenzel, Norris Kathleen, Ed. “Western Garden Book.” 2001.
Sunset Publishing Corporation, Menlo Park, CA.
12
Eyre, Normand Suzanne, Ed. “Sunset National Garden
Book.” First Edition, 1997. Sunset Books Inc., Menlo Park, CA.
13
American Horticultural Society. “Plant Heat Zone Map.”
1990. http://www.ahs.org/pdfs/05_heat_map.pdf
14
Kuhns, Michael. “Trees of Utah and the Intermountain
West—A Guide to Identification and Use.” 1998. Utah State
University Press. Utah State University Extension, Logan, UT.
15
Gilman, Edward F. and Dennis G. Watson. “680 Tree Fact
Sheets.” University of Florida, IAFS, Environmental
Horticulture. http://hort.ufl.edu/trees/
16
Missouri Botanical Garden. “PlantFinder.” Kemper Center for
Home Gardening.
http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/serviceplantfin
der.shtml
17
Mainland, Charles M. and William O. Cline. “Growing
Blueberries in the Home Garden.” Department of Horticultural
Science, North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service, North
Carolina State University. HIL-8207. Nov. 2002.
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-8207.html
18
Plant Guide; “Big Sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata).” USDA
Natural Resource Conservation Service, Idaho State Office. 11
pp.
19
Kennedy, Harvey E., Jr. “Silvics of Forest Trees of the United
States.” USDA Forest Service, Agriculture Handbook No. 271.
http://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/silvics_manual/volume_2/fra
xinus/pennsylvanica.htm
20
Whitlinger, Dave. Dave’s Garden; Plant Files.
http://davesgarden.com/pf/
21
Climate and Weather: Data, Information, and Products
Clearinghouse, High Plains Regional Climate Center,
University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE.
http://www.hprcc.unl.edu/clearinghouse/glossary.html
22
Wozniak, Carl. “Clouds”; Glossary.
www.carlwozniak.com/clouds/glossary.html
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