Editorial Standards
The rules we hold ourselves to so you can trust what you read here.
Public data, cited
Every zone, soil, frost-date, and drought figure on WhatZoneAmI comes from a named public federal dataset — USDA PHZM, USDA SSURGO, NOAA NCEI Climate Normals, or the US Drought Monitor. We list each source and link to it on our data sources page, and we describe exactly how the numbers are derived in our methodology.
Accuracy & corrections
Recommendations are rules-based and reproducible: the same ZIP always yields the same result, so any error is traceable rather than random. If you spot a figure that looks wrong, email corrections@whatzoneami.com with the ZIP or county and what you expected. We recheck against the source dataset and fix confirmed errors promptly.
No estimates dressed as facts
Where a county lacks a value in the underlying federal data, we say the data is unavailable rather than fabricate or interpolate a figure. Averages from zone maps and climate normals are labeled as averages, not guarantees.
Advertising & affiliate independence
WhatZoneAmI is supported by display advertising (Google AdSense) and affiliate links to grass-seed and lawn-product retailers. Advertising and affiliate relationships never influence the zone, soil, or climate data we report or which grasses our rules recommend. Ads are clearly distinguishable from editorial content, and affiliate links are disclosed in our terms and privacy policy.
Scope of advice
Our content is informational gardening and lawn-care guidance, not professional horticultural, agronomic, financial, or legal advice. For high-stakes decisions, confirm with a local cooperative extension office.