What’s My Ecoregion? 

Traditionally, home gardeners have focused on hardiness zones to guide their perennial plant selections. The US is broken out into 13 zones, each further subdivided into A&B. Westchester County ranges from 6A to 7A.

But did you know a much more informative way to determine whether a plant will thrive in your yard is to look at ecoregions? Hardiness zones would have you using the same plants here as you would in Oregon, Nevada, and Utah, places with very different weather patterns and soil conditions. The relatively new focus on native plants is wonderful, but plants that are indigenous to upstate NY would generally not be happy this far south.

Our ecoregion is 59, the “Northern Coastal Zone” and it extends up the coast through CT and into MA and ME.