Northern Europe Hardiness Zones
Scandinavia lies at the same latitude as Alaska or Greenland, but the effect of the warm North Atlantic Current is even more pronounced here than it is in Britain and Ireland. Save for a very small spot near Karasjok, Norway which is in zone 2, nowhere in the Arctic part of Scandinavia does it get below zone 3. The Faroe Islands, at 62-63°N are in zone 8, as are the outer Lofoten Islands at 68°N. Tromsø, a coastal city in Norway at 70°N, is in zone 7, and even Longyearbyen, the northernmost true city in the world at 78°N, is still in zone 5. All these coastal locations have one thing in common, though, which are cold, damp summers, with temperatures rarely exceeding 20°C, or 15°C in Longyearbyen. This shows the importance to take heat zones into account for a better understanding of what may or may not grow.
In Sweden and Finland generally, at sea level to 500 metres, zone 3 is north of the Arctic Circle, including cities like Karesuando, Pajala and Rovaniemi. Kiruna is the big exception here, which being located on a hill above frost traps, is in zone 5. Zone 4 lies between the Arctic Circle and about 64-65°N, with cities such as Oulu and Jokkmokk, Zone 5 (south to 61-62°N) contains cities such as Tampere, Umeå and Östersund. Zone 6 covers the south of mainland Finland, Sweden north of 60°N, and the high plateau of Småland further south. Here one will find cities such as Gävle, Örebro, Sundsvall and Helsinki. The Åland Islands, as well as coastal Southern Sweden, and the Stockholm area are in zone 6. The west coast of Sweden (Gothenburg and southwards) enjoys particularly mild winters and lies in zone 7, therefore being friendly to some hardy exotic species (found, for example, in the Gothenburg Botanical Garden), the southeast coast of Sweden has a colder winter due to the absence of the Gulf Stream.
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