Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Cilician Meadow Saffron (Colchicum cilicicum)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called Cilician Meadow Saffron, Autumn Crocus.

More about cilician meadow saffron

About Cilician Meadow Saffron

Colchicum cilicicum · also called Cilician Meadow Saffron, Autumn Crocus · flowering

Cilician Meadow Saffron is a vigorous autumn-flowering corm from Turkey and the Levant, producing large, rosy-pink to purple goblet flowers without leaves in September and October. Among the most showy and free-flowering of all colchicums for borders and naturalising. All Colchicum species are extremely toxic to pets and people; contains colchicine.

Cold limit: USDA 4-9 · RHS H6 (4-22°C)

What cilician meadow saffron's hardiness rating actually means

Yes — cilician meadow saffron is genuinely cold hardy. Rated RHS H6 and USDA 4-9, 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 4-9 — 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 −20 to −15 °C. Cilician Meadow Saffron is built for winter — once established it takes hard frost and snow in its stride.

Concretely, for cilician meadow saffron 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 cilician meadow saffron go outside or overwinter — and where?

Plant it out within USDA 4-9 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 cilician meadow saffron can be outside. US growers can check USDA zones; UK growers should use the RHS hardiness ratings, which match the H6 figure above.

Cilician Meadow Saffron hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is cilician meadow saffron cold hardy?

Yes — cilician meadow saffron is genuinely cold hardy. Rated RHS H6 and USDA 4-9, it lives outdoors all year and needs winter cold rather than protection from it. An outdoor plant. Cilician Meadow Saffron is hardy across USDA 4-9; 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 cilician meadow saffron can survive?

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

What hardiness zone is cilician meadow saffron?

Cilician Meadow Saffron is rated USDA 4-9 and RHS H6 — Hardy throughout the UK and northern Europe.

Can cilician meadow saffron survive winter outside?

Plant it out within USDA 4-9 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 cilician meadow saffron 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.