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Photo: Easy Elegance® Roses |
Take a few minutes to watch this Extension Video Guide to reading plant labels. You'll be glad you did!
Who regulates plant labels?
In our state, the Minnesota the Department of Agriculture regulates what information is required on plant labels. Plants have a tough time growing in Minnesota’s rigorous climate, and sometimes so do we! Our winters are rough and many plants will not survive in Minnesota’s USDA Hardiness Zones as follows:- Zone 3 (minimum winter temperature of -40°F);
- Zone 4 (minimum winter temperature of -30°F);
- and in the metro and far southern MN, Zone 5 (minimum winter temperature of -20°F).
How do plant label laws protect us in Minnesota?
Specifically the Minnesota Cold Hardiness statute requires that:- "Plants, plant materials, or nursery stock must not be labeled or advertised with false or misleading information including, but not limited to, scientific name, variety, place of origin, hardiness zone as defined by the United States Department of Agriculture, and growth habit."
- "All nonhardy nursery stock as designated by the commissioner must be labeled correctly for hardiness or be labeled "nonhardy" in Minnesota."
Other label information
Additional information gardeners would like to see on the label are: site preferences; native to Minnesota; flowering time; life cycle (annual or perennial), height; longevity; etc. However, this additional information is optional. So much information can be hard to capture on a label and require much more work for the grower and retailer.Good gardening tip!
Once you purchase a plant, keep the plant label! This important information is easy to forget. If nothing else, use a large mailing envelope to collect all your plant labels for each year. Better yet, add them to a garden journal with the date planted, location in your yard, and the receipt.For complete cold hardiness labeling information and the cold hardy plant list for Minnesota see:
MN Dept. of Agriculture Cold Hardiness List
USDA Hardiness zone map
Author: Mary H. Meyer, Extension Horticulturist and UMN Professor