Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Common Stork's Bill (Erodium cicutarium)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called Common Stork's Bill, Redstem Filaree, Redstem Stork's Bill, Pinweed.

More about common stork's bill

About Common Stork's Bill

Erodium cicutarium · also called Common Stork's Bill, Redstem Filaree · flowering

Erodium cicutarium is a native annual or biennial wildflower of temperate Eurasia, North Africa, and Macaronesia, naturalised widely across North America, and found in sandy grasslands, heathlands, roadsides, and disturbed ground across the UK. It forms a flat basal rosette of feathery, pinnate leaves from a tap root, bearing small bright pink flowers (occasionally with dark basal spots) from April to September, followed by the distinctive spirally twisted beak-like seed heads that give the genus its name. As a garden plant it is largely a self-seeding wildflower or weed, but it is occasionally grown deliberately in wildlife or meadow schemes to attract early pollinators. Erodium species are absent from the ASPCA Toxic Plants database, so toxicity status cannot be confirmed; it is classified as mildly-toxic as a precaution, though it is widely used as a forage plant and edible herb in some cultures.

Cold limit: USDA 3-11 · RHS H7 (-20 to 35°C)

What common stork's bill's hardiness rating actually means

Yes — common stork's bill is genuinely cold hardy. Rated RHS H7 and USDA 3-11, 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 3-11 — 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 Stork's Bill is built for winter — once established it takes hard frost and snow in its stride.

Concretely, for common stork's bill 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 stork's bill go outside or overwinter — and where?

Plant it out within USDA 3-11 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 stork's bill can be outside. US growers can check USDA zones; UK growers should use the RHS hardiness ratings, which match the H7 figure above.

Common Stork's Bill hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is common stork's bill cold hardy?

Yes — common stork's bill is genuinely cold hardy. Rated RHS H7 and USDA 3-11, it lives outdoors all year and needs winter cold rather than protection from it. An outdoor plant. Common Stork's Bill is hardy across USDA 3-11; 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 stork's bill can survive?

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

What hardiness zone is common stork's bill?

Common Stork's Bill is rated USDA 3-11 and RHS H7 — Hardy in the severest European continental winters.

Can common stork's bill survive winter outside?

Plant it out within USDA 3-11 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 stork's bill 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.