Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Annual Clary (Salvia viridis)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called Annual Clary, Clary, Painted Sage, Bluebeard.

More about annual clary

About Annual Clary

Salvia viridis · also called Annual Clary, Clary · flowering

Salvia viridis (syn. Salvia horminum) is a fast-growing annual native to the Mediterranean basin, prized for its showy papery bracts in pink, purple, or white rather than its small flowers. It thrives in full sun and poor to moderately fertile, sharply drained soils, making it an excellent choice for gravel gardens and cottage borders. The most important care fact is that rich, moist soil produces lush foliage at the expense of the colourful bracts for which it is grown. The plant is considered mildly toxic to pets due to volatile essential oils present in the Salvia genus.

Cold limit: USDA 7-11 (grown as hardy annual) · RHS H3 (15–28°C optimum; frost-sensitive below 0°C)

What annual clary's hardiness rating actually means

Annual Clary is half-hardy (RHS H3). It survives a mild winter outdoors in a sheltered spot, but a hard frost kills it — so in colder zones it is lifted, potted, or grown as a tender plant. Its RHS rating of H3 means: Half-hardy — comes through mild UK winters outside but is killed by a hard freeze. On the US scale that maps to USDA 7-11 (grown as hardy annual) — 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 −5 to 1 °C — a light, short frost only. Annual Clary shrugs off cold nights but a real, sustained freeze will kill it.

Concretely, for annual clary as it gets too cold:

Down to roughly about −5 to 1 °C it copes, especially if dry and sheltered.
A sustained hard frost collapses the top growth; whether it returns depends on whether the roots, crown or tubers froze.
Wet cold is far more lethal than dry cold for this plant — soggy, frozen soil is the usual killer.

Can annual clary go outside or overwinter — and where?

It can live outside year-round only in the mildest, most sheltered part of USDA 7-11 (grown as hardy annual) or a frost-free UK microclimate.
In colder zones, grow it in a pot you can move under cover, or lift its tubers/roots and store them frost-free over winter.
A south-facing wall, free-draining soil and a dry winter position can push it a full zone hardier than the books suggest.

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 annual clary can be outside. US growers can check USDA zones; UK growers should use the RHS hardiness ratings, which match the H3 figure above.

Frost protection for borderline annual clary

Annual Clary is right on a hardiness edge in many gardens, so if you are pushing it, these measures buy it the margin it needs:

Mulch the crown or root zone deeply with bark, straw or leaf-mould before the first hard frost.
Move container plants against a warm wall or into an unheated but frost-free porch or greenhouse.
Fleece the top growth on the coldest nights, and keep it on the dry side — dry roots survive cold far better than wet ones.
Lift dahlia-type tubers or tender crowns after the first light frost blackens the foliage and store them somewhere cool but frost-free.

Annual Clary hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is annual clary cold hardy?

Annual Clary is half-hardy (RHS H3). It survives a mild winter outdoors in a sheltered spot, but a hard frost kills it — so in colder zones it is lifted, potted, or grown as a tender plant. Borderline outdoors. In its mild end of USDA 7-11 (grown as hardy annual) (and sheltered UK gardens) annual clary can stay out; in colder areas it must be lifted, brought in, or treated as a frost-tender plant.

What is the minimum temperature annual clary can survive?

Minimum survivable temperature is roughly about −5 to 1 °C — a light, short frost only. Annual Clary shrugs off cold nights but a real, sustained freeze will kill it.

What hardiness zone is annual clary?

Annual Clary is rated USDA 7-11 (grown as hardy annual) and RHS H3 — Half-hardy — comes through mild UK winters outside but is killed by a hard freeze.

Can annual clary survive winter outside?

It can live outside year-round only in the mildest, most sheltered part of USDA 7-11 (grown as hardy annual) or a frost-free UK microclimate. In colder zones, grow it in a pot you can move under cover, or lift its tubers/roots and store them frost-free over winter. A south-facing wall, free-draining soil and a dry winter position can push it a full zone hardier than the books suggest.

How do I protect annual clary from frost?

Mulch the crown or root zone deeply with bark, straw or leaf-mould before the first hard frost. Move container plants against a warm wall or into an unheated but frost-free porch or greenhouse. Fleece the top growth on the coldest nights, and keep it on the dry side — dry roots survive cold far better than wet ones. Lift dahlia-type tubers or tender crowns after the first light frost blackens the foliage and store them somewhere cool but frost-free.