Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Agrimony (Agrimonia eupatoria)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called agrimony, common agrimony, church steeples.

More about agrimony

About Agrimony

Agrimonia eupatoria · also called agrimony, common agrimony · herb

Agrimony is an upright European wildflower and traditional medicinal herb, sending up tall, slender spikes of small yellow, faintly apricot-scented flowers in summer above downy, divided leaves. A meadow and hedgerow native, it suits wildflower borders and pollinator plantings, tolerates poor soils and dry conditions, and forms burr-like seedheads that cling to passing fur and clothing.

Cold limit: USDA 3-8 (outdoor perennial) · RHS H6 (10-25°C)

What agrimony's hardiness rating actually means

Yes — agrimony is genuinely cold hardy. Rated RHS H6 and USDA 3-8 (outdoor perennial), it lives outdoors all year and needs winter cold rather than protection from it. Its RHS rating of H6 means: Hardy throughout the UK and northern Europe. On the US scale that maps to USDA 3-8 (outdoor perennial) — the zones where it can be left outdoors year-round.

New to these scales? The USDA hardiness zone map explained covers how the zone numbers work, and you can find your own zone with the zone finder.

Minimum temperature — and what happens below it

Minimum survivable temperature is roughly about −20 to −15 °C. Agrimony is built for winter — once established it takes hard frost and snow in its stride.

Concretely, for agrimony as it gets too cold:

It tolerates winter lows to about −20 to −15 °C once established.
Below its rated zone, the visible damage is browned or blackened top growth and, in the worst case, a killed crown or root.
First-year, newly planted, or container-grown specimens are noticeably less hardy than established garden plants — the roots are exposed.

Can agrimony go outside or overwinter — and where?

Plant it out within USDA 3-8 (outdoor perennial) and it overwinters with little or no help.
It does not want to come indoors — a warm winter room actually weakens a hardy plant by denying it dormancy.
The real risks in its range are waterlogging, wind-rock on young plants, and a late hard frost on new growth — not ordinary winter cold.

Work back from your local frost dates with the frost-date calculator: the last spring frost and first autumn frost are what really decide when agrimony can be outside. US growers can check USDA zones; UK growers should use the RHS hardiness ratings, which match the H6 figure above.

Agrimony hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is agrimony cold hardy?

Yes — agrimony is genuinely cold hardy. Rated RHS H6 and USDA 3-8 (outdoor perennial), it lives outdoors all year and needs winter cold rather than protection from it. An outdoor plant. Agrimony is hardy across USDA 3-8 (outdoor perennial); it belongs in the ground or a frost-proof container, not on a windowsill, and many types actively need a cold winter to perform.

What is the minimum temperature agrimony can survive?

Minimum survivable temperature is roughly about −20 to −15 °C. Agrimony is built for winter — once established it takes hard frost and snow in its stride.

What hardiness zone is agrimony?

Agrimony is rated USDA 3-8 (outdoor perennial) and RHS H6 — Hardy throughout the UK and northern Europe.

Can agrimony survive winter outside?

Plant it out within USDA 3-8 (outdoor perennial) and it overwinters with little or no help. It does not want to come indoors — a warm winter room actually weakens a hardy plant by denying it dormancy. The real risks in its range are waterlogging, wind-rock on young plants, and a late hard frost on new growth — not ordinary winter cold.

What happens to agrimony below its minimum temperature?

It tolerates winter lows to about −20 to −15 °C once established. Below its rated zone, the visible damage is browned or blackened top growth and, in the worst case, a killed crown or root. First-year, newly planted, or container-grown specimens are noticeably less hardy than established garden plants — the roots are exposed.