hardiness zone question

cdnmum

Hello, I'm trying to find out whether Cahirciveen in Kerry is in Plant Hardiness Zone 9b or 10a… sorry if this question seems obscure and irrelevant but it is quite vital to my own particular little gardening plan! Can anybody point me in the direction of a decent zone map or possibly even just give me a definite answer? Many thanks for reading and happy gardening to all!

Supercell

I would have said 10a in all likelihood on average, but an easterly or NE could throw up an occasional nasty surprise. Personally would plan for 9a long term - http://www.trebrown.com/hrdzone.html

Note from that url -

The noticeable differences are to be seen in our zones 10a & 9b. Whereas, plants from other country's zones 10a & 9b can whithstand short, colder outbreaks than us and survive, in the British Isles they must endure a winter which is several months long with low light levels and wet weather. Consequently, there are very few plants, labelled as zone 9 or 10 that can be grown here.

Have a look at page 13 of http://www.met.ie/climate/MonthlyWeather/clim-2010-Dec.pdf to see what can be expected maybe every 20 to 30 years or so. I think 9a or maybe 8b even is prudent if planning on a 10-20 year basis.

lottpaul

Hardiness zones in this part of the world are less defined I think. Excellent point in quote above about low light levels and also the amount of rainfall. Am just across the bay from you and the dominating factors for us have been 2 things - wind and the mountains. In a sheltered spot it can be balmy at any time of the year but in an exposed site its bleak when the wind blows, no matter what the thermometer says. Also, in our case we have Mount Brandon just behind us - snow capped today - and it definitely affects the rainfall, wind temperatue etc.
Supercell is right in that unless you have a sheltered spot you should aim for 8 in the longer term.
Best of luck - and get a shelter belt going asap

LurkerNo1

You might be better off in the long term understanding the micro climate of your garden but this comes with time. Hardiness zone can in my opinion put up a full stop to what you can grow but knowing all parts of your garden can open up many more options, in other words don't limit yourself to what the book says.