Torsten Posted October 13, 2013 The discussion about providing accurate climate information in profiles has made me think about my description which was subtropical NSW. Now that is quite ambiguoys because subtropics incldue frost areas right down to -7 not far from here, which is actually colder than some coastal temperate areas I have lived in. So was thinking that if my property only gets the occasional mild frost then I should be 10a. But I don't know any of my plants in those conditions. Being on a farm on the side of a mountain means I actually have several temperature zones. The nursery for example has in 12 years never gone below 4C (most years 6C is the minimum), so that makes it more or less zone 11a. So I was wondering what the accepted process is for listing USDA zones? Is it the region or is it the actual conditions on the specific property? Also, USDA zones seems to be quite specific around zone 10a and 10b in regards to being frost free. Australian zones seems to be much more generalised. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Foo Posted October 13, 2013 What advantage does providing a zone have over providing the min/max temps for your location? Surely 2c-44c is more helpful then any of the zones i have currently listed. Just a thought 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
planthelper Posted October 13, 2013 (edited) I agree totally with tort and eatfoo, maybe the climat and location field should be modified to allow a longer description. instead of: Climate or location:oz dry 240m, zone 10 we could give accurate descriptions: Climate or location: mostly dry, but some monsunal floods, alt 240m, zone 10, -3 (rare morning frosts) to +45 deg C, but got some sheltered frost free patches, australia Edited October 13, 2013 by planthelper Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
whitewind Posted October 13, 2013 Or use drop down lists: Coastal, mountain, tableland, desert (one field) Cool, temperate, subtropical, tropical (second field) Temp range (pick max and min) (field three) Average Rainfall (f4) supplementary water tick box Zones aren't very useful quite honestly they mean very little to most people, and as you pointed out, even your property covers more than one range, so what about someone who lives 15k away by the beach? 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jox Posted October 13, 2013 I have the same kind of problems as you Torsten, living up on a mountain range & this is what I was trying to point out in the other post. I would be more than happy to fill in all the details that whitewind suggested on my profile & think this would make it a lot easier to help answer other members questions & makes more sense than a location or zone, just my thoughts. Good luck working out what we should do & please keep us posted about what you would like to see in our profile. Cheers Jox Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
planthelper Posted October 13, 2013 if we could have space to describe the microclimate, the whole thing would be very accurate... for example within, 100m of my place, everything is frost free, because they are on top of the hill, but I am where the frost collects, on lower ground. however, my big trees shelter some parts of my garden from the frost, and so does the house itself. so I got as well frost free climat meaning different climat zones... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Torsten Posted October 13, 2013 Thanks for the input guys. I reckon you have nailed it with the suggestion that this should actually be expanded. I hadn't considered this because of the low compliance rate so far, but I guess if we make it a uniform feature then it will be much easier for each memebr to set and for admin/mods to keep an eye on. I like the idea of drop down menus, but not sure if I want to rewrite that part of the script. maybe that's the best option though. But at the very least I think a multi line set of data will be much more meaningful. and it should relate directly to the location of the plants. My only worry is that it will get too complicated for some. I like whitewind's list. But how would we do it if it wasn't a drop down list? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Foo Posted October 17, 2013 (edited) I reckon we just need 3 fields. No drop downs Max Temp c Min Temp c Climate To me the most important info is the temps. As stated before almost all of us have tap water and most plant questions are about plants in pots. If folks want to add words like "temperate" or "mountain" they can use the last field (Climate). Edited October 17, 2013 by eatfoo 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
