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Canadian plant hardiness zone is used in Canada; Australian (ANBG) zone is used in Australia. Both are anchored to temperature, so they can be lined up — but they divide the scale differently, and one band in one system often spans two in the other. Treat the table below as the nearest equivalent, not a precise translation.
They are not the same kind of claim. Plant tolerates down to this zone. Plant tolerates down to this zone. That difference matters more than the numbers: reading one as though it were the other is the single most common way a plant ends up bought for the wrong garden.
Canadian to ANBG conversion table
| Canadian | Temperature range | ANBG equivalent | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zone 0 | down to −45 °C | no direct equivalent | Northern sub-arctic |
| Zone 1 | −45 °C to −40 °C | no direct equivalent | Far north, severe winters |
| Zone 2 | −40 °C to −34 °C | no direct equivalent | Prairie cold |
| Zone 3 | −34 °C to −29 °C | no direct equivalent | Very cold winters |
| Zone 4 | −29 °C to −23 °C | no direct equivalent | Cold winters |
| Zone 5 | −23 °C to −18 °C | no direct equivalent | Moderately cold winters |
| Zone 6 | −18 °C to −12 °C | Zone 1 | Milder cold |
| Zone 7 | −12 °C to −7 °C | Zone 1, Zone 2 | Mild winters with light freezes |
| Zone 8 | −7 °C to −1 °C | Zone 2, Zone 3 | Coastal mild — light frost |
| Zone 9 | −1 °C and warmer | Zone 3, Zone 4, Zone 5, Zone 6, Zone 7 | Mildest pockets, near frost-free |
Why the conversion is approximate
Canadian zones are numbered 0–9 and run roughly one number lower than USDA at the cold end. The official system also weighs frost-free days, summer rainfall, summer maximum, snow cover and wind, so map values to your area using the official map for accuracy.
Australian National Botanic Gardens zones run from 1 (cold mountain) up to 7 (hot tropical). The system only covers down to about −15 °C — colder climates fall outside it.
Because the two systems were built for different places and different questions, a converted number tells you roughly where a plant sits on the cold scale — not whether it will thrive. Summer heat, humidity, rainfall pattern and the length of your growing season all matter, and none of them appears in either rating.
Check a rating against your own conditions
Converting the number is only half the job. Cross-check a rating against your own climate, or find your zones in all four systems by answering a short set of questions about where you garden.
See also the full band tables for Canadian plant hardiness zone and Australian (ANBG) zone.