Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

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

Also called Common Agrimony, Church Steeples, Sticklewort, Cocklebur.

More about common agrimony

About Common Agrimony

Agrimonia eupatoria · also called Common Agrimony, Church Steeples · herb

Agrimonia eupatoria is a slender, upright herbaceous perennial native to Europe, southwest Asia, and North Africa, growing in meadows, hedgerows, and roadside verges. It produces tall spikes of small yellow flowers from June to September, beloved by pollinators, and has a long history of herbal use for its astringent and anti-inflammatory properties. It is remarkably tolerant of poor, dry, alkaline soils and requires very little care once established. Common agrimony is not listed as toxic by the ASPCA and is considered to have low toxicity to pets.

Cold limit: USDA 3-8 · RHS H7 (-30 to 28°C)

What common agrimony's hardiness rating actually means

Yes — common agrimony is genuinely cold hardy. Rated RHS H7 and USDA 3-8, 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 3-8 — 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. Common Agrimony is built for winter — once established it takes hard frost and snow in its stride.

Concretely, for common agrimony 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 common agrimony go outside or overwinter — and where?

Plant it out within USDA 3-8 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 common agrimony can be outside. US growers can check USDA zones; UK growers should use the RHS hardiness ratings, which match the H7 figure above.

Common Agrimony hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is common agrimony cold hardy?

Yes — common agrimony is genuinely cold hardy. Rated RHS H7 and USDA 3-8, it lives outdoors all year and needs winter cold rather than protection from it. An outdoor plant. Common Agrimony is hardy across USDA 3-8; 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 common agrimony can survive?

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

What hardiness zone is common agrimony?

Common Agrimony is rated USDA 3-8 and RHS H7 — Hardy in the severest European continental winters.

Can common agrimony survive winter outside?

Plant it out within USDA 3-8 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 common agrimony 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.