OMAHA- According to a new winter plant hardiness map issued by the United States Department of Agriculture, certain regions of Nebraska might be getting warmer. The previous map, published in 2012, showed all of Nebraska within Zone 5, meaning it had annual minimum temps around -20 to -10 degrees.

The latest map, issued this year, show certain areas in Nebraska categorized as Zone 6, meaning they're experiencing slightly warmer minimum temperatures. "General indicators are always good to note," said John Fech of the Douglas County Extension Office, "but we are in this kind of narrow sliver of Zone 6 so we are just on the edge."

While the slight shift isn't expected to impact field crops, certain plants, like trees and shrubs, are not quite as hardy. "There have been a few plants in recent years that have survived where otherwise they might not have," said Fech, "Plants like Japanese Blood Grass, Rose of Sharon, Pawpaw, those kinds of plants that we are more inclined to recommend people experiment with."

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