Planting Zones (USDA Hardiness Zones)

It's easy to understand why you shouldn't plant something rated for zone 8 hardiness in hardiness zone 5. I mean, frost and freezing immediately come to mind; however, what about the converse? I live in zone 10b. What could happen if I planted strawberries rated for zones 5 through 8? It seems to me that while you have to be concerned about planting something in a lower rated zone, planting in a higher rated zone is not so important. Is that right?

I am in zone 9 and my experience is that the items rated for cooler zones will just evenually die in hotter climates. It may take a while but they are never truly happy. If you look around you will be able to get varieties specific to your area and you will have better yields and less aggravation.

snorkelpop - if you would like to grow strawberries in your zone, you can purchase plants that will do well there.

http://www.gardenguides.com/86584-strawberries-plant-zone-9.html

Agreed. USDA hardiness zones are ueless for most vegetables which are annuals. Perennials like fruits, you should pay attention to USDA hardiness ratings. Strawberries produce in all zones in the continental USA, However some varieties are better than others in specific zones. It is always best to plant varieties reccomended for your area. There are many variables other than temperature which come into play.

HoneybeeNC,

I've already planted about ten strawberry plants, so I'm going to stop there this year. True, I did plant an unknown number of seeds and bare roots OUTDOORS, but I'm not counting on them. I just don't want to spend more money on plants, although I came close (One excellent site had 25 bare-root plants--I was going to plant them indoors--for $11 or $12), but when I got to the final button, the cost had escalated to $37 because of shipping costs, inspection fees, and taxes). Then, I tried looking for seeds, but out of the many companies that sell strawberry seeds, none of them carried the types recommended for California. Well, one good thing came of my shopping expedition, I found the following site: It's unbelievable.

HoneybeeNC,

Here's the URL for the site I termed, "unbelievable". I've since found other great strawberry sites, but enough is enough.
http://strawberryplants.org/2010/05/strawberry-seeds/

snorkelpop - I grew great strawberries when we lived in SoCal, and I'm old enough to remember when much of that now built-up city land that's between San Diego and the Mexican border was - commercial strawberry fields! I think you'd do better getting your strawberry plants at a good local nursery than ordering them from another climate zone.

Strangely, when we moved from Southern California to Missouri, I was able to grow many more things here than I could out there. I miss being able to grow avocados, lemons, and such - but so many more perennials and fruit trees need a cold winter.