The Map Has Been App’ed: Iphone App For Finding Usda Hardiness Zones

PRLog (Press Release) - Mar. 14, 2012 - Corvallis, Oregon, March 14—Now there’s an iPhone ® app for the new USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map.

The app, called ClimateWise™ Plant Hardiness, lets you type in a ZIP code or city on your iPhone or iPad and get the hardiness zone for that location.  It also gives you the typical dates of the first fall freeze, last spring freeze, and growing season length, information not available on the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map website (www.planthardiness.ars.usda.gov) .  

The ZIP code finder has proven to be most popular method for users to find a hardiness zone on the 2012 USDA PHZM website, which was released by USDA’s Agricultural Research Service on January 25.

Now available at Apple’s iPhone/iPad ® app store for $0.99, ClimateWise ™ Plant Hardiness was developed by Climate Source, Inc., a partner in the development and dissemination of 2012 PHZM datasets.  

With this app, you can quickly and conveniently find the hardiness zone for a location while out in your garden or at your local nursery, an essential piece of information when investing in perennials and shrubs. And if you are buying annual plants, ClimateWise™ Plant Hardiness can provide the typical dates of the first freezing temperature in fall and the last freezing temperature in spring.—critical knowledge to avoid wasting your plant dollars.  For example, if the date of last freeze in spring is May 2, there is a greater than 50-50 chance that a freeze will occur before that date, and less than 50-50 chance that a freeze will occur after that date.

You can get more information about the ClimateWise™ Plant Hardiness app from the iPad/iPhone® app store or http://www.climatesource.com/ .

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Founded in 2000, Climate Source, Inc. incorporates the use of the PRISM model, developed by Dr. Christopher Daly of Oregon State University. Climate Source provides mobile applications and digital climate mapping for GIS users around world.