Which region is the best analogue for the US south's climate and ecology? (warmest, temperature)
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Duh, the only reasonable contest for East Asia is missing.
Although more seasonally moderate, subtropical South America is flatter, sunnier and has more temperature swings.
Shanghai is a ton like the Norfolk, VA and Virginia Beach area, while Kentucky and Tennessee are pretty comparable to Central-Southern Chinese provinces like Henan and Hubei.
Fujian as a whole I'd say is a mashup of the South Atlantic states, with parts of South Carolina, Georgia, and North Florida resembling it.
Huai'an in Jiangsu province is pretty similar climate-wise to D.C.. It's not a perfect analogue but pretty close.
Overall it's pretty obvious that East Asian climates align much better with Eastern North American climates than European climates do (and yet people love to compare European with U.S. city climates).
What's the furthest north/coldest place you can grow dragonfruit in the southern US?
It's a difference between average yearly minimums and average winter temps. Southern US has lower to similar yearly minimums but higher average winter temps than their Chinese latitudinal counterparts. To answer your question, maybe New Orleans.
It's a difference between average yearly minimums and average winter temps. Southern US has lower to similar yearly minimums but higher average winter temps than their Chinese latitudinal counterparts. To answer your question, maybe New Orleans.
Yeah, I'd imagine that coconuts have stricter requirements for warm soil, warm average winter temperatures, and sunshine, being a lowland tropical tree.
On the other hand, the more tropical highland type plants might be able to handle cooler winters such as those of China's southern coast, so long as they are frost free (or at least free of hard frosts)? Dragonfruit might not even be the best example of such a plant.
Guava, cherimoya, longan/lychee and passionfruit might be better examples among fruit crops. Those can be grown in Florida, but maybe the northern limit of where they can be grown corresponds to higher winter means than the northern limit of where they can be grown in East Asia? Passionfruit (passiflora edulis) is grown in Portugal, since it can withstand prolonged cooler temperatures (40s-50s) as long as there's no hard frost. So it should be able to grow in Fujian and Guizhou provinces, but not in Tallahassee.
Answer to OP, definitely East Asia, with Japan being the most analogous as it's less monsoon-influenced than most of South Asia/Korea/China with year-round rain. Japan's June rainy season is also roughly analogous of Texas's spike in rainfall in May-June and June-July a bit further east.
On the other hand, the more tropical highland type plants might be able to handle cooler winters such as those of China's southern coast, so long as they are frost free (or at least free of hard frosts)?
There you have it folks-
* Highland
* Cooler Winters
- BUT ! -
* Frost Free
Put two and two together, and now you can see what I was talking about this whole time
In simpler terms: frost does NOT mean cold- in fact, the presence of frost often indicates a warmer, flatter region that gets temperature inversions. So basically, frost is a subtropical feature due to sunny winters and more nighttime inversion.
South Florida is like Hainan/Taiwan.
The transition between South/Central Florida is like Okinawa.
Central Florida is like southern Guangdong.
The Gulf Coast from East Texas to North Florida, and continuing along the coastline of the Carolinas is like Fujian.
Most of the rest of the south (Upland South, DC, Virginia, Piedmont, Delta) are like Japan
The more semi-arid parts of Texas from Dallas to Austin and San Antonio and the Rio Grande Valley get hotter than anywhere in China, while still having cooler winters than anywhere that gets as hot in the summer further south (ex Thailand, Philippines), so most of Texas is closer to India, especially the western parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain, although Texas is more vulnerable to harsh freezes.
Of course, Asia has more of a monsoon precipitation pattern, while the southern US is more even. Japan however has more even precipitation. Some parts of China don't have overly pronounced monsoonal patterns though, like Hunan and Jiangxi Provinces.
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