Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Bog Cranberry (Oxycoccus palustris)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called Bog cranberry, Small cranberry, European cranberry, Common cranberry.

More about bog cranberry

About Bog Cranberry

Oxycoccus palustris · also called Bog cranberry, Small cranberry · edible

A delicate, thread-stemmed, prostrate evergreen shrub of peat bogs and wet heathlands across boreal and temperate zones of Europe, Asia, and North America. Produces nodding pink flowers followed by small, tart red berries that are fully edible — used in jams, juices, and sauces. Requires permanently wet, acidic, peaty conditions and is ideal for bog gardens.

Cold limit: USDA 2-6 · RHS H7 (-40°C to 25°C)

Watch for — Poor fruit set: Low bee activity or cold, wet weather during the June–July flowering period reduces pollination and berry set. Planting multiple plants together and encouraging pollinator-friendly surroundings helps. Hand pollination with a soft brush is possible in poor-pollinator gardens.

What bog cranberry's hardiness rating actually means

Yes — bog cranberry is genuinely cold hardy. Rated RHS H7 and USDA 2-6, it lives outdoors all year and needs winter cold rather than protection from it. Its RHS rating of H7 means: Hardy in the severest European continental winters. On the US scale that maps to USDA 2-6 — 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 below about −20 °C. Bog Cranberry is built for winter — once established it takes hard frost and snow in its stride.

Concretely, for bog cranberry as it gets too cold:

It tolerates winter lows to about −20 °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 bog cranberry go outside or overwinter — and where?

Plant it out within USDA 2-6 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 bog cranberry can be outside. US growers can check USDA zones; UK growers should use the RHS hardiness ratings, which match the H7 figure above.

Bog Cranberry hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is bog cranberry cold hardy?

Yes — bog cranberry is genuinely cold hardy. Rated RHS H7 and USDA 2-6, it lives outdoors all year and needs winter cold rather than protection from it. An outdoor plant. Bog Cranberry is hardy across USDA 2-6; 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 bog cranberry can survive?

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

What hardiness zone is bog cranberry?

Bog Cranberry is rated USDA 2-6 and RHS H7 — Hardy in the severest European continental winters.

Can bog cranberry survive winter outside?

Plant it out within USDA 2-6 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 bog cranberry below its minimum temperature?

It tolerates winter lows to about −20 °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.