Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Lamb's Ear (Stachys byzantina)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called lamb's ear, woolly hedgenettle, bunny ears.

More about lamb's ear

About Lamb's Ear

Stachys byzantina · also called lamb's ear, woolly hedgenettle · flowering

Lamb's ear (Stachys byzantina) is a low, mat-forming perennial grown for its thick, silvery, velvety-soft foliage and woolly spikes of small purple flowers. A drought-tolerant edging and groundcover plant from the Middle East, it thrives in lean, sunny, well-drained sites and spreads steadily into silver carpets. Evergreen in mild winters, it dislikes humidity and wet feet above all.

Cold limit: USDA 4-9 (cold-hardy outdoor perennial) · RHS H6 (-29 to 32°C)

What lamb's ear's hardiness rating actually means

Yes — lamb's ear is genuinely cold hardy. Rated RHS H6 and USDA 4-9 (cold-hardy outdoor perennial), 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 4-9 (cold-hardy outdoor perennial) — 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. Lamb's Ear is built for winter — once established it takes hard frost and snow in its stride.

Concretely, for lamb's ear 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 lamb's ear go outside or overwinter — and where?

Plant it out within USDA 4-9 (cold-hardy outdoor perennial) 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 lamb's ear can be outside. US growers can check USDA zones; UK growers should use the RHS hardiness ratings, which match the H6 figure above.

Lamb's Ear hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is lamb's ear cold hardy?

Yes — lamb's ear is genuinely cold hardy. Rated RHS H6 and USDA 4-9 (cold-hardy outdoor perennial), it lives outdoors all year and needs winter cold rather than protection from it. An outdoor plant. Lamb's Ear is hardy across USDA 4-9 (cold-hardy outdoor perennial); 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 lamb's ear can survive?

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

What hardiness zone is lamb's ear?

Lamb's Ear is rated USDA 4-9 (cold-hardy outdoor perennial) and RHS H6 — Hardy throughout the UK and northern Europe.

Can lamb's ear survive winter outside?

Plant it out within USDA 4-9 (cold-hardy outdoor perennial) 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 lamb's ear 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.