Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Dragon's Blood Stonecrop (Sedum spurium 'Dragon's Blood')cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called Two-row Stonecrop.

More about dragon's blood stonecrop

About Dragon's Blood Stonecrop

Sedum spurium 'Dragon's Blood' · also called Two-row Stonecrop · flowering

Dragon's Blood is a creeping, mat-forming stonecrop with rounded bronze-red foliage that deepens to burgundy in sun and cold, topped by star-shaped rose-red flowers in summer. A tough, drought-proof groundcover for rockeries, edges and green roofs, it is fully cold-hardy, evergreen to semi-evergreen, and ASPCA non-toxic to cats and dogs.

Cold limit: USDA 3-8 (hardy outdoor groundcover) · RHS H6 (-30 to 30°C)

Watch for — Foliage greener than expected: Insufficient sun. The signature burgundy-red needs strong direct light and cool temperatures to develop fully.

What dragon's blood stonecrop's hardiness rating actually means

Yes — dragon's blood stonecrop is genuinely cold hardy. Rated RHS H6 and USDA 3-8 (hardy outdoor groundcover), 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 3-8 (hardy outdoor groundcover) — 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. Dragon's Blood Stonecrop is built for winter — once established it takes hard frost and snow in its stride.

Concretely, for dragon's blood stonecrop 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 dragon's blood stonecrop go outside or overwinter — and where?

Plant it out within USDA 3-8 (hardy outdoor groundcover) 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 dragon's blood stonecrop can be outside. US growers can check USDA zones; UK growers should use the RHS hardiness ratings, which match the H6 figure above.

Dragon's Blood Stonecrop hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is dragon's blood stonecrop cold hardy?

Yes — dragon's blood stonecrop is genuinely cold hardy. Rated RHS H6 and USDA 3-8 (hardy outdoor groundcover), it lives outdoors all year and needs winter cold rather than protection from it. An outdoor plant. Dragon's Blood Stonecrop is hardy across USDA 3-8 (hardy outdoor groundcover); 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 dragon's blood stonecrop can survive?

Minimum survivable temperature is roughly about −20 to −15 °C. Dragon's Blood Stonecrop is built for winter — once established it takes hard frost and snow in its stride.

What hardiness zone is dragon's blood stonecrop?

Dragon's Blood Stonecrop is rated USDA 3-8 (hardy outdoor groundcover) and RHS H6 — Hardy throughout the UK and northern Europe.

Can dragon's blood stonecrop survive winter outside?

Plant it out within USDA 3-8 (hardy outdoor groundcover) 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 dragon's blood stonecrop 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.