PlaceDossier / Questions
What plant hardiness zone is this property in?
Natural Resources Canada maps how harsh the growing climate is across Canada as plant hardiness zones, from 0 (harshest) to 9 (mildest), each split into a and b. A report gives the zone at the lot, with the nearest weather station's frost dates and snow.
The report opens at this answer, with the lot drawn on the map and every other check alongside. A PID (on the tax notice or title) always finds the lot; an address works when it's an exact match.
What the answer means
- What a zone is
- A summary of the climate plants have to survive, built from winter lows, the frost-free period, summer rain and heat, snow cover and wind. Nurseries label plants with the coldest zone they'll survive in.
- Reading it
- Higher is milder: a plant rated for zone 5 should survive in zones 5 to 9. The a half of a zone is a little colder than the b half.
- What it isn't
- Not a frost date or a growing-season length: those come from the nearest station's records, which the report gives beside the zone.
- Local differences
- The map is broad. A valley bottom where cold air pools, a windy ridge or a south-facing slope can be a zone colder or milder than the map, and a hillside lot can differ from the town below it.
- The 2025 map
- Natural Resources Canada redrew the zones from 1991–2020 climate in 2025. Many BC places moved half a zone or more milder than on older maps, so a plant tag or book using the older map can read a zone low.
A zone is a regional guide to which plants survive the winter, read by us from the national map. Confirm with a local nursery or the BC Master Gardeners in your area before you buy or build.
Source: Plant hardiness zones of Canada (2025 map), Natural Resources Canada (Open Government Licence – Canada).
BC's zones, mildest first
| Zone | BC homes | Places with most of their homes in it |
|---|---|---|
| 9a | 32% | Vancouver, Richmond, Saanich, Victoria and 21 more |
| 8b | 38% | Surrey, Burnaby, Abbotsford, Coquitlam and 52 more |
| 8a | 5% | Campbell River, Courtenay, Port Alberni, Comox and 41 more |
| 7b | 2% | Castlegar, Kitimat, Hope, Cumberland and 16 more |
| 7a | 6% | Kelowna, Penticton, West Kelowna, Lake Country and 28 more |
| 6b | 4% | Kamloops, Vernon, Salmon Arm, Summerland and 24 more |
| 6a | 2% | Trail, Merritt, Chase, Lillooet and 10 more |
| 5b | 2% | Princeton, Clearwater, Canal Flats, Greenwood and 8 more |
| 5a | 2% | Cranbrook, Williams Lake, Kimberley, Fernie and 13 more |
| 4b | 3% | Prince George, Quesnel, Smithers, Sparwood and 16 more |
| 4a | 1% | Vanderhoof, Mackenzie, Houston, 100 Mile House and 20 more |
| 3b | under 1% | Elkford, Tumbler Ridge, Chetwynd, Burns Lake and 12 more |
| 3a | 1% | Fort St. John, Dawson Creek, Pouce Coupe and 5 more |
| 2b | under 1% | Northern Rockies |
| 2a | under 1% | Kitimat-Stikine, Electoral Area F |
| 1b | under 1% | none |
| 1a | under 1% | none |
| 0b | under 1% | none |
| 0a | under 1% | none |
Read by us from NRCan's 2025 map at each of the 2021 homes in ISED's data, on a grid of about 2 to 3 km. Each BC place page names its zones.
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