The National Wildlife Federation, Environment Georgia and the Garden Club of Georgia have released "The Gardener's Guide to Global Warming."
The report is based on evidence showing many of Georgia’s common plants won't be so common in the next century, if climate change continues at its current pace.
Georgia's climate is becoming more like that of Florida, and, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, wildfires, droughts, and intense hurricanes will become more common nationwide.
The guide recommends that gardeners plan for these trends. For example, the federation's Sue Sturges says, Georgia will need a new state tree to replace the live oak.
"If I was a developer building a new development, I would not be planting the oaks right now," Sturges says. "I'd be choosing other trees in their place because the oaks are going to die out. It’s inevitable."
Sturges says magnolias will do well in Georgia's changing climate. She also recommends that the loblolly pines now burning in southeastern Georgia wildfires be replaced by hardier longleaf pines.
The report is based on evidence showing many of Georgia’s common plants won't be so common in the next century, if climate change continues at its current pace.
Georgia's climate is becoming more like that of Florida, and, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, wildfires, droughts, and intense hurricanes will become more common nationwide.
The guide recommends that gardeners plan for these trends. For example, the federation's Sue Sturges says, Georgia will need a new state tree to replace the live oak.
"If I was a developer building a new development, I would not be planting the oaks right now," Sturges says. "I'd be choosing other trees in their place because the oaks are going to die out. It’s inevitable."
Sturges says magnolias will do well in Georgia's changing climate. She also recommends that the loblolly pines now burning in southeastern Georgia wildfires be replaced by hardier longleaf pines.
