Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Green Lavender (Lavandula viridis)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called Green lavender, Yellow lavender, White lavender.

More about green lavender

About Green Lavender

Lavandula viridis · also called Green lavender, Yellow lavender · herb

Green lavender is an evergreen aromatic subshrub native to the dry, nutrient-poor soils of southwest Portugal (Algarve and Baixo Alentejo) and southwest Spain (Huelva and Seville), where it inhabits open scrubland and rocky slopes; it has also been introduced in Madeira and the Azores. It is distinctively unusual among lavenders for its bright green foliage and pale yellow-green flower spikes rather than the typical purple, and it carries a mild, slightly lemony fragrance. It is less cold-hardy than English lavender, requiring a sheltered, very well-drained site and performing best in mild coastal gardens or containers overwintered under glass in colder regions. According to the ASPCA, lavender (Lavandula) is toxic to cats, dogs, and horses.

Cold limit: USDA 8-9 · RHS H3 (-5 to 35°C)

Watch for — Rosemary beetle (Chrysolina americana): Adults and larvae graze foliage from late summer onward, leaving plants weakened before winter. Inspect regularly from August; hand-pick beetles at dusk or treat with a contact insecticide registered for edible herbs if needed.

What green lavender's hardiness rating actually means

Green Lavender 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 8-9 — 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 −5 to 1 °C — a light, short frost only. Green Lavender shrugs off cold nights but a real, sustained freeze will kill it.

Concretely, for green lavender 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 green lavender go outside or overwinter — and where?

It can live outside year-round only in the mildest, most sheltered part of USDA 8-9 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 green lavender 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 green lavender

Green Lavender 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.

Green Lavender hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is green lavender cold hardy?

Green Lavender 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 8-9 (and sheltered UK gardens) green lavender can stay out; in colder areas it must be lifted, brought in, or treated as a frost-tender plant.

What is the minimum temperature green lavender can survive?

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

What hardiness zone is green lavender?

Green Lavender is rated USDA 8-9 and RHS H3 — Half-hardy — comes through mild UK winters outside but is killed by a hard freeze.

Can green lavender survive winter outside?

It can live outside year-round only in the mildest, most sheltered part of USDA 8-9 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 green lavender 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.