New feature for the PDB: Zip codes!

For U.S. residents, we have a new feature of the Plants Database. The feature is a regional feature, in which you can tell the database about your growing successes of various plants by your region.

So, let's say that you grew a certain variety of coreopsis last year, and it performed wonderfully and you figure others in your region should know about this.

You would then find the plant in question, and, directly above the comments section for that plant, you add your zipcode to that plant.

Later on, once we get some zipcodes in the database, I will add a zipcode lookup feature to the advanced search, so you can limit your search queries to plants that have previously been marked by others in your region.

In the end, we might have a pretty cool regional plant lookup tool, and let others know what plants work best in their area. By limiting your query to other gardeners within, say, 50 miles, you can get a pretty good idea of what will work best in your area.

Dave

COOL!

Oh, great! That's such a good way to poinpoint things beyond zones alone. Wow!

I just added some initial browsing capabilities...

Check this page out:

http://plantsdatabase.com/zipbyzip.php?zip=37128&distance=200

You get there from the plant's page - just click on the zipcode anytime it is viewable. Later I'll add a "Search by zip" box.

I really wish I could make this feature international. I hate limiting this to the United States. :(

Dave

A very interesting and potentially powerful tool. The following comment / question may be redundant because I am tired (long, long work night), and perhaps did not understand your description well.

All databases have "rules," and I imagine that you can establish, within reasonable limits, whatever rules would be useful.

Therefore, a qustion:

My Zip code is 10463.

If I were to enter my Zip code into the PDB feature, would it return hits only in my Zip code or hits within a given (or selectable) radius from the center of my Zip code?

Why I ask:

The absolute size of a Zip code seems to be based on population density. My Zip code here in NYC is pretty small, in terms of area (I can walk across it in a few minutes), compared to, let's say, someone living in rural Ohio.

Were I to look for plants well grown in my region, I might get an artificially low number of hits were my region limited to the geographical dimensions of my Zip code alone.

On the other hand, I have lived through "feature~creep" and remember well the sleepless nights and waking nightmares this entailed (I remember signing the checks this provoked). Thus, feel free to ignore me at your pleasure.

Adam.
PS: I used to work in an office tower that had two internal Zip codes (no kidding).





This message was edited Friday, Apr 11th 5:27 PM

That was of course what i was just about to ask Dave. Could you not have an overall search by continent at least? I spose that would just bring up too many plants. By county in UK might work.........

Ao,

I think you were composing your message while I posted the one directly above you.

Radius searches was the plan all along, and has already been programmed in. Hit the link above, and you will see that it is doing radius searches (50 miles by default).

You can then change it to whatever you want and press enter, and the new radius will be used.

Regarding the zipcodes themselves: I have the latitude and longitude of every zipcode in the U.S. in a database, and use that to figure where you are. So, if you are in zipcode 37771 (Lenoir City, TN) then my system knows that 37774 (Loudon, TN) is 8 miles away. If that's within the radius, then all plants listed in Loudon get shown for the Lenoir City search.

I've done quite a bit of testing on this and it seems to work fairly well. The only downside right now is that I have no zips in the datase (except for the ones I put in myself) with which to test this. As we get more data in there, I can refine these search features.

Dave

Great work, Dave. You continue to impress.

Thank you.

Adam.

I can send you a list of all counties/municipalities in Finland ;)

Wow! Way cool feature! Just checked it out!
Very easy to add your zip codes folks! (And remove them if you've make a mistake!)

This is a keeper!

I hope we all remember that if we live in NYC but see a plant we'd like to add to the PDB in California, we will all type in the Zip code from..., that's right..., you got it ;~)

Adam.

Adam...you can add any plant in the whole World to the database, whether it's in your backyard, California, or Timbuctu. The zipcode feature appears to be an "extra" tidbit and shows that this particular plant did well in YOUR area. I think that will only come into play when people have actually grown it in their area and will be for the benefit of others in their area.

In other words, if you see a plant growing in California, and you live in NY, unless you've grown the plant in NY you wouldn't add your zip code OR the California zip code (mainly because you don't have the experience of growing said plant in California). See what I mean?

Or have I missed something here?

Uh..., yeah, I think I've got that now.

I'm running on fumes, coffee and short sleep here..., so I'm a bit slow today.

Thanks, Shoe.

Adam.

Oh I so love this feature...especially since I need all the help I can get LOL

At first blush, I think this feature has the potential to far surpass the limited capabilities of the USDA zones in helping gardeners select plants that have been successfully grown by others in their geographic vicinity.

I did have a thought similar to philomel's, and perhaps phase II (soon?) could include a list of Canadian provinces and all other countries (we already have it loaded in other parts of DG); so those outside the U.S. could at least narrow it down to a Canadian province or another country around the world? I know that probably doesn't lend itself to the radius search, but it could look for exact matches...

I know I'll be busy adding "successfully grown in current (and past) ZIP codes to many, many plants. The more data, the better, right?

Thanks Terry - I was wondering whether I was totally out on a limb here, so it's good to hear you've been having similar thoughts :)

This is a great idea! I went back to my plants and started to add the zip code ratings. Some of the photos I have added, will not do well in my zip code but better in the other regions of the bay area, so those I won't add my zip code unless it does well it my microclimate.

I did feel a bit guilty about giving positive zip code rating to the horrible invasives and weeds, but if it really grows in my garden as a weed, (like the wild onion), then I can say yes, it was a huge success.

Adam,

Don't worry....I chuckled/groaned :)

Trish

Great feature. I suppose we can also list those plants that are deemed suitable for a particular zone but have succumbed. Also, plants that are purported to be evergreen in certain zones but not always the case. In other words, are successes and failures both required?

I think if we only are marking success then it is self evident no need to include failer. If it failed then don't check that zip code, unless you have seen a huge number of successful ones growing in your zip code, and realize it was not due to "won't grow in your microclimate".

So how can we all help? I'm all for pumping up that database! I certainly see how this would help, even if we want to "push the zone".

When you are looking at the data base and you notice that you have successful grown a plant that you are looking at, then check it off the zip code for your area, at the bottom portion of the entry. Then in time a person should be able to enter their zip code and come up with a list of plants that will preform for them. This goes way beyond a mere zone listing. For example some hostas require more winter chill then I have in my zone 10, but others will do great in my zip code.

I would say you have have grown the plant for a full year to see if it is really doing well. Since somethings die later, such as my black eyed susan vine, I can't say I have successfully grown it, but it listed as ok for my zone. So, I will not check that it is ok for my zip code.

Bug_girl is dead-on right. When you think of a plant that does well for you, you can find the "add" button beneath its details. Eventually, this will build up a great repository of data that will allow all of us to search for plants that have been successfully grown within a given radius (50 miles, 100 miles, etc.)

MUCH more accurate in many respects than the USDA zones.

I was very impressed to see my postcode popping up automatically when I enter a plant in the PDB, for me to tick if I've had success with a plant!
meant to comment earlier - thanks Dave.
Is there a key somewhere so people can tell whereabouts I am from this?

One word for this - easy. Easy, easy, easy :)

If you've wanted to help with the PDB, but didn't know how, this is perfect! Think of the plants you've got growing, have grown, your neighbor grows, you grew at your last house (the list goes on and on...)

Now find the plant's entry. Scroll down just a bit and you'll see a box to enter your ZIP code (if you entered it on your preferences page, it's already there.) Click on submit. and you're done. If you've grown it at more than one residence, you can enter multiple ZIP codes.

If you make a mistake (wrong plant, wrong ZIP, etc.) it's just as easy to delete it.

I have a question I just added this plant to the database
http://plantsdatabase.com/go/55694/ as soon as I did then it popped up that revclaus has grown it. I thought hey thats cool I will see where they are. It doesn't say.So if I am guessing right they put in on one of the Tiarella and its picking that up for all of them and they didn't add a zip code when they hit the button? Also I went to there name and it shows on there page 1 zipcode report is that going to be added to our member pages as well or just to non-subcribed members?

I believe the problem is that revclaus has not reported his or her city or town. If one has added this information to the member page, then the zip code would automatically add, when the option is checked. Some people get a bit nervous about saying where they live.

To answer the other part of your question Peggy - I'm pretty sure Dave doesn't have it set to automatically fill in all cultivars for a particular species. I just checked some of mine, and even though I entered a ZIP for one cultivar, it doesn't show that I've entered my ZIP for the others we have in the PDB.

Now, that is a good feature of Dave's because in the case that one cultivar is successful, it does not mean that all of the other cultivars of the same species will be successful. So, I plan to only check the cultivars that I have personal experience about. For example if hosta was a general entry, then I would check hosta, but some hosta cultivars may not be good for my area, so I would only check the cultivars that worked for me, and not ones I have never tried.

I use the PDB a lot and don't want to give anyone even more chances than there already are on the web to find my address. However, out of interest I looked at Philomel's Erythronium 'Pagoda' entry and it just gives a comma. I clicked on it and this is the page it linked to.

http://plantsdatabase.com/zipbyzip.php?zip=ME10

A temporary blip or just a case of the feature not being available outside of the US?

I think it's because it's out of the US Baa
So it doesn't show the code? Good

Philomel I was referring to your above post

"I was very impressed to see my postcode popping up automatically when I enter a plant in the PDB, for me to tick if I've had success with a plant!"

I took it to mean that there was such a feature available to some outside the US. Evidently not!

No, I thought it meant there was when I posted that, but realise not
Still, as you say, don't want my address there for all and sundry