Gardeners who are careful to select plants that thrive in their area have an updated U.S. Department of Agriculture Plant Hardiness Zone Map to use.
Released in late 2023, the zone map features an updated chart that was previously drawn in 2012. Much of Mississippi is now in zone 8b. This zone has average low winter temperatures of 15–20 degrees.
Eddie Smith, a horticulturist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service and host of Southern Gardening, said despite the adjustments made to the plant hardiness zones, most of the state will still be able to grow the same crops and plants.
“Even with warmer temperatures shown to extend further north, the options for growing tropical plants will remain the same,” Smith said. “Winter temperatures will be too low for tropical plants to survive outside without receiving some damage or being killed.”
Read the complete article at extension.msstate.edu