>> GARDENERS MAY START TO SEE SOME UNFAMILIAR PLANS TURN UP AT NURSERIES AND GARDEN CENTERS NEXT SPRING, ACCORDING TO A NEWLY UPDATED PLANT, HARDINESS MAP.

SIGNIFICANT PARTS OF THE COUNTRY, INCLUDING CHICAGO, ARE NOW IN WARMER ZONES.

THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY PRISON CLIMATE GROUP RECENTLY RELEASED THIS MAP WDW NEWS REPORTER PATTY, WHAT LEE JOINS US NOW WITH MORE.

PATTY, YOU GOT TO START BY EXPLAINING TO ME, WHAT IS THE HEART IN OWN?

GREAT QUESTION.

IF YOU'RE NOT A GARDENER, WHICH I MEAN, I SORT OF PARALLEL ZONES IN THE EVERY 10 DEGREES.

BASICALLY, IT'S LIKE WHAT PLANTS CAN SURVIVE AT WHAT IS THE LOWEST TEMPERATURE AVERAGE.

>> IN THAT ZONE.

SO COMPLANT SURVIVE.

THEY NEED TO BE ABLE TO SURVIVE LIKE -10 TO -20 DEGREES IN THIS ZONE.

-10 TO 0 DEGREES IN THIS ZONE.

SO IT'S HOW HEARTY DO PLANTS NEED TO BE TO SURVIVE OVER THE WINTER, GIVEN WHATEVER THE LOW TEMPERATURES ARE, THAT SO THERE MIGHT BE SOME NEW PLANTS THAT CAN SURVIVE A IN CHICAGO.

THEN WOULDN'T.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR?

I MEAN, YEAR, SO OVERALL OF THE COUNTRY, ABOUT HALF THE COUNTRY GOT MOVED INTO A WARMER ZONE ABOUT 2 AND A HALF.

>> AVERAGE DEGREES WARMER ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

IN THE PLAINS, IN THE MIDWEST, WE'RE EXPERIENCE SOME OF THE MOST CHANGE WE CAN NOW ON PAR IN THE CHICAGO AREA OF SOME PARTS OF KENTUCKY OR THINK ABOUT ST. LOUIS.

SO PLANTS THAT WE MIGHT HAVE BEEN HAD TO SURVIVE TO -20 BELOW 0.

NOW THERE'S A NEW SLIVER ALONG THE LAKEFRONT.

IT CAN MEET -5 TO 0 DEGREES.

SO PLANTS DON'T NEED TO BE AS HARDY IN SOME AREAS HERE NOW, HOW CAN GROWERS AND GARDENERS AND JUST FOR THIS FOR YOU KNOW, IT'S THINK ABOUT WHAT ARE YOU SEEING IN IN PEOPLE'S GARDENS IN SOUTHERN ILLINOIS OR NORTHERN KENTUCKY?

YOU CAN KIND OF START TO PUSH THE ENVELOPE.

EXPERTS TOLD US WE MIGHT EVEN WERE UNLIKE ZONE 6, THINK ABOUT OWN 7.

THAT'S WHAT THEY DO AT THE CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN.

YOU KNOW, WHAT CAN WE GROW HERE?

THAT PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT, YOU KNOW, WAS A WARMER CLIMATE PLANT.

SO YOU MIGHT WANT TO THINK ABOUT PUSHING THE ENVELOPE, BUT KEEP IN MIND THAT JUST BECAUSE THOSE ARE THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES, THAT DOESN'T MEAN WE CAN'T STILL HAVE A POLAR VORTEX AND CAN YOU KNOW NOT ANYTHING OUT OF STATE AS GARDENERS AND NOW WE MIGHT KNOW.

GROWING SEASON IS THE SAME AS THE OTHER.

AS WE'RE BEING REMINDED TONIGHT, I KNOW A SINGLE DIGITS.

FROM MOVING ONE OF THE NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES HERE.

I MEAN, SOME NEGATIVES HAVE TO DO WITH NATIVE PLANTS AND THAT THERE ARE INVASIVE SPECIES THAT WE'VE KIND OF COUNTED ON.

>> CALLED SUPER DEEP FREEZE IS KILLING OFF THEIR SEEDS OR THAT THEY COULDN'T STAND THE CLIMATE HERE.

NOW, IF IT'S GETTING WARMER, THEY MIGHT HAVE BETTER LUCK BECOME EVEN MORE INVASIVE OR PEOPLE WHO WANT TO THINK ABOUT NATIVE PLANTS BEING SOLELY WHAT'S BEEN HISTORICALLY GROWN IN THIS REGION.

WE MIGHT START SEEING PLANTS CREEPING UP A LITTLE BIT.

AND SO THEN ARE THEY NATIVE?

ARE THEY AGGRESSIVE?

WE DON'T KNOW HOW THOSE PLANTS ARE GOING TO START TO BEHAVE.

SO, YOU KNOW, IT'S CLIMATE CHANGE IT'S AFFECTING EVERYTHING.

IT'S VERY UNFAIR TO GARDENERS TO.

ALL RIGHT.

PATTY WHITLEY, I WILL NOTE THAT THE NEXT TIME I