I am looking for zone 4 perrenial ideas
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Gardening In Zone 4: Tips For Gardening In Cold Climates
If you are in USDA zone 4, you’re probably somewhere in the interior of Alaska. This means that your area gets long, warm days during the summer with high temps in the 70’s and lots of snow and average cold temps of -10 to -20 F. (-23 to -28 C.) in the winter. This translates to a rather short growing season of about 113 days, so vegetable gardening in zone 4 can be challenging. The following article contains some helpful tips for gardening in cold climates and appropriate zone 4 garden plants.
Gardening in Cold Climates
Zone 4 refers to the United States Department of Agriculture’s map identifying your region in relation to what plants will survive in your area. Zones are divided by 10 degree increments and are only using temperature to ascertain survivability.
Sunset zones are climate zones that are more specific and take into account your latitude; ocean influence, if any; humidity; rainfall; wind; elevation and even microclimate. If you are in USDA zone 4, your Sunset zone is A1. Narrowing down your climactic zone can really help you decide which plants are possible to grow in your area.
There are also other things that you can do to ensure your successful growing of plants for cold climates. First of all, talk to the locals. Anyone that’s been there for a while will no doubt have both failures and successes to tell you about. Build a greenhouse and use raised beds. Also, plant south to north, or north to south. Warmer weather regions are encouraged to plant east to west so the plants shade each other, but not in colder areas, you want maximum sun exposure. Keep a garden journal and record your hits and misses and any other special information.
Plants for Cold Climates
You will no doubt need to do some research on specific varieties of plants that are suited for cold climates. This is where the information gleaned from friends, neighbors and family that live in your area becomes invaluable. Perhaps one of them knows the exact type of tomato that will garner successful fruit when vegetable gardening in zone 4. Tomatoes generally require warm temps and a longer growing season, so prying this nugget of information out of someone can mean the difference between triumphant tomato growing and dismal failure.
For perennials suited as zone 4 gardening plants, any one of the following should do well:
Shasta daisies
Yarrow
Bleedingheart
Rockcress
aster
Bellflower
goat’s beard
Daylily
Gayfeather
Violets
Hardy Geraniums
Less hardy perennials can be grown successfully as annuals in colder climates. Coreopsis and Rudbeckia are examples of less hardy perennials that work as plants for cold climates. I prefer to grow the perennials myself since they return year after year, but I always tuck in annuals too. Examples of cold climate annuals are nasturtiums, cosmos and coleus.
There are many trees and shrubs that can take the colder temps of zone 4 such as:
BarberryAzaleaInkberryBurning
Azalea
Inkberry
Burningbush
Amoketree
Winterberry
Pine
Hemlock
Cherry
Elm
Poplar
As to vegetable gardening, cold season veggies do the best, but with extra TLC, the use of a greenhouse and/or raised beds combined with black plastic, you can also grow most other common vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers, celery, cucumbers and zucchini. Again, talk to those around you and get some helpful advice regarding which varieties of these veggies worked best for them.
Good Luck.
http://www.midwestgardentips.com/best_performing_perennials_a-c.html
Hi Cheryl, Zone 4 does not have a very long growing season. There is a plant called Lamb's Ear. It is very hardy and should do well as boarders or in pots. Burning Bushes are pretty hardy and will provide beautiful colors. Violets will also give beautiful color for you. Hope this helps.
Zone 4 actually has a growing season that takes in many more plants than those in the southern sections think. I live in SE Minnesota and that is zone 4b. I can grow just about anything but some of the tropical perennials that are annuals unless you take them in for the winter. Our growing season may be shorter than the south, but I can grow any vegetable that anyone else can. I grow 12 to 14 foot cherry and yellow pear tomatoes, and squash plants that grow about 35 feet long like mine did last year and ended up in the neighbors yard. I actually don't plant cool season veggies much, I do lettuce , but we prefer the others better. We do get very warm and muggy weather in the summer and sometimes even in the spring like this year. I lived four years in the Galveston-Houston area and five years in Naples Florida and our heat and humidity in the summer does rival very well. It is only June and we have been in the eighties and even nineties more than I would like for May and June. Just because we have long, cold winters, don't think of us northerners as being in the artic circle. I have been able to keep parts of my gardens going into November when mother nature is nice to us. We northerners are willing to try and successfully grow in our "short" seasons most anything. An awful lot of produce comes from our farmers that you buy in the stores. Sorry about the diatribe, but I keep hearing so much about what you can't plant up here compared to the more southern states and a lot isn't true, maybe they may be annuals for us because of our winters, but we can still grow them without a problem.
I live in the north part of zone 4 and have no problem with hostas, delphiniums, lupine, lilies, peonies and many more too long to list. Your local greenhouse can help you find some easy plants to start with.
Check out Better Homes and Gardens online or pick-up a magazine at your local grocery. Visit a local nursery garden store. Ask for their ideas. Happy planting!
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/gardening-byzone/zone-4/g
Hostas are good anywhere and beautiful.