Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Clary Sage (Salvia sclarea)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called Muscatel Sage.

More about clary sage

About Clary Sage

Salvia sclarea · also called Muscatel Sage · herb

Clary sage is a short-lived biennial or perennial Salvia grown for large, felted aromatic leaves and tall summer spires of pink-and-lilac bracts. It thrives in full sun and sharp drainage, tolerating poor, dry soil. The musky-scented foliage yields an essential oil, and self-sown seedlings appear freely once it flowers.

Cold limit: USDA 5-9 · RHS H5 (10-27°C)

Watch for — Crown and root rot: Wet, poorly drained soil rots the large rosette, especially over winter; plant in sharp-draining ground and avoid overwatering.

What clary sage's hardiness rating actually means

Yes — clary sage is genuinely cold hardy. Rated RHS H5 and USDA 5-9, it lives outdoors all year and needs winter cold rather than protection from it. Its RHS rating of H5 means: Hardy in most of the UK and in cold winters. On the US scale that maps to USDA 5-9 — 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 −15 to −10 °C. Clary Sage is built for winter — once established it takes hard frost and snow in its stride.

Concretely, for clary sage as it gets too cold:

It tolerates winter lows to about −15 to −10 °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 clary sage go outside or overwinter — and where?

Plant it out within USDA 5-9 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 clary sage can be outside. US growers can check USDA zones; UK growers should use the RHS hardiness ratings, which match the H5 figure above.

Clary Sage hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is clary sage cold hardy?

Yes — clary sage is genuinely cold hardy. Rated RHS H5 and USDA 5-9, it lives outdoors all year and needs winter cold rather than protection from it. An outdoor plant. Clary Sage is hardy across USDA 5-9; 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 clary sage can survive?

Minimum survivable temperature is roughly about −15 to −10 °C. Clary Sage is built for winter — once established it takes hard frost and snow in its stride.

What hardiness zone is clary sage?

Clary Sage is rated USDA 5-9 and RHS H5 — Hardy in most of the UK and in cold winters.

Can clary sage survive winter outside?

Plant it out within USDA 5-9 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 clary sage below its minimum temperature?

It tolerates winter lows to about −15 to −10 °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.