Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Greek Mountain Tea (Sideritis syriaca)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called Greek mountain tea, ironwort, shepherd's tea.

More about greek mountain tea

About Greek Mountain Tea

Sideritis syriaca · also called Greek mountain tea, ironwort · herb

Greek mountain tea is a low, silvery, woolly-leaved Mediterranean subshrub in the mint family, topped in summer with spikes of pale yellow flowers. The whole flowering plant is dried for the traditional Balkan herbal tea. Adapted to hot, dry, rocky mountainsides, it demands sharp drainage and full sun and resents winter wet.

Cold limit: USDA 7-10 · RHS H3 (10-30°C)

Watch for — Root rot from overwatering: The most common cause of death; the felted, dry-adapted roots rot in wet or poorly drained soil, especially over winter. Plant in gritty, sharply drained ground and water sparingly.

What greek mountain tea's hardiness rating actually means

Greek Mountain Tea is half-hardy (RHS H3). It survives a mild winter outdoors in a sheltered spot, but a hard frost kills it — so in colder zones it is lifted, potted, or grown as a tender plant. Its RHS rating of H3 means: Half-hardy — comes through mild UK winters outside but is killed by a hard freeze. On the US scale that maps to USDA 7-10 — 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 −5 to 1 °C — a light, short frost only. Greek Mountain Tea shrugs off cold nights but a real, sustained freeze will kill it.

Concretely, for greek mountain tea as it gets too cold:

Down to roughly about −5 to 1 °C it copes, especially if dry and sheltered.
A sustained hard frost collapses the top growth; whether it returns depends on whether the roots, crown or tubers froze.
Wet cold is far more lethal than dry cold for this plant — soggy, frozen soil is the usual killer.

Can greek mountain tea go outside or overwinter — and where?

It can live outside year-round only in the mildest, most sheltered part of USDA 7-10 or a frost-free UK microclimate.
In colder zones, grow it in a pot you can move under cover, or lift its tubers/roots and store them frost-free over winter.
A south-facing wall, free-draining soil and a dry winter position can push it a full zone hardier than the books suggest.

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 greek mountain tea can be outside. US growers can check USDA zones; UK growers should use the RHS hardiness ratings, which match the H3 figure above.

Frost protection for borderline greek mountain tea

Greek Mountain Tea is right on a hardiness edge in many gardens, so if you are pushing it, these measures buy it the margin it needs:

Mulch the crown or root zone deeply with bark, straw or leaf-mould before the first hard frost.
Move container plants against a warm wall or into an unheated but frost-free porch or greenhouse.
Fleece the top growth on the coldest nights, and keep it on the dry side — dry roots survive cold far better than wet ones.
Lift dahlia-type tubers or tender crowns after the first light frost blackens the foliage and store them somewhere cool but frost-free.

Greek Mountain Tea hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is greek mountain tea cold hardy?

Greek Mountain Tea is half-hardy (RHS H3). It survives a mild winter outdoors in a sheltered spot, but a hard frost kills it — so in colder zones it is lifted, potted, or grown as a tender plant. Borderline outdoors. In its mild end of USDA 7-10 (and sheltered UK gardens) greek mountain tea can stay out; in colder areas it must be lifted, brought in, or treated as a frost-tender plant.

What is the minimum temperature greek mountain tea can survive?

Minimum survivable temperature is roughly about −5 to 1 °C — a light, short frost only. Greek Mountain Tea shrugs off cold nights but a real, sustained freeze will kill it.

What hardiness zone is greek mountain tea?

Greek Mountain Tea is rated USDA 7-10 and RHS H3 — Half-hardy — comes through mild UK winters outside but is killed by a hard freeze.

Can greek mountain tea survive winter outside?

It can live outside year-round only in the mildest, most sheltered part of USDA 7-10 or a frost-free UK microclimate. In colder zones, grow it in a pot you can move under cover, or lift its tubers/roots and store them frost-free over winter. A south-facing wall, free-draining soil and a dry winter position can push it a full zone hardier than the books suggest.

How do I protect greek mountain tea from frost?

Mulch the crown or root zone deeply with bark, straw or leaf-mould before the first hard frost. Move container plants against a warm wall or into an unheated but frost-free porch or greenhouse. Fleece the top growth on the coldest nights, and keep it on the dry side — dry roots survive cold far better than wet ones. Lift dahlia-type tubers or tender crowns after the first light frost blackens the foliage and store them somewhere cool but frost-free.