Zoning in on zone

Hiya ~ I have looked up my zone here in Springfield OR numerous times but have found conflicting info, and now I am too confused to remember even the generalities. Can someone clue me in? I'm kinda near the Washburn district. Thank you!

Turtle
(my real nickname)

Hello, and welcome! I don't know the specifics of your area, but my best general guess looking at a hardiness map is you are in zone 8. Local areas can have variation based on elevation and proximity to bodies of water. Also, some winters are more severe than others, and it is possible to dip below temperature averages. Depending on the time of year, this is not such a big deal, but i fit happens when plants have not yet hardened off for the winter, it can affect them more significantly or do them in altogether. At least that's been my experience. I am in zone 8 too, but my house is on a small hill, and it gets somewhat windy here so I think I might be more functionally in zone 7. I had a friend in Salem, and I think the Willamette Valley gets a lot more heat units in the summer than we do here by the Puget Sound. So that might make a difference for things like ripening tomatoes.

Try www.plantmaps.com/ your zipcode. You can zoom right in on your own neighborhood.

That is an awesome link, thanks for sharing Maury!

Turtle, my house is in a location zip (98188) where it has gotten both zone 7b and 8b.. I personally just always assume the colder zone and put any plants in a higher zone in pots, where I can bring them inside if need be, or mulch super heavy. I did this for my abutilon 'tiger eye'. People in my area have had their plant damaged during the abnormally colder winter, and it's such a pretty plant I didn't want to risk it. I just always error on the side of safety!

Thank you both! And I shall follow the link forthwith!

Turtle