Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Long-Beaked Stork's Bill (Erodium botrys)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called Long-Beaked Stork's Bill, Long-Beaked Filaree, Broadleaf Filaree, Mediterranean Stork's Bill.

More about long-beaked stork's bill

About Long-Beaked Stork's Bill

Erodium botrys · also called Long-Beaked Stork's Bill, Long-Beaked Filaree · flowering

Erodium botrys is a winter-growing annual herb native to the Mediterranean basin, the Middle East, and North Africa, where it germinates in late summer or early autumn and completes its life cycle by early summer. It forms a basal rosette of highly lobed, slightly hairy leaves on reddish petioles, then produces upright flowering stems bearing small, five-petalled lavender to purple flowers with darker streaking. Its most distinctive feature is the exceptionally long fruit beak — reaching up to 12 cm — which gives the species its common name. It naturalises freely in free-draining, sunny ground. Not documented as toxic; mildly-toxic classification used in the absence of an ASPCA species-level entry.

Cold limit: USDA 7-10 (winter annual; seed overwinters in colder zones) · RHS H3 (-5 to 30°C)

Watch for — Failure to germinate after transplanting: E. botrys is best direct-seeded in situ in late summer; transplant shock disrupts the winter annual cycle and seedlings often fail to establish when moved.

What long-beaked stork's bill's hardiness rating actually means

Long-Beaked Stork's Bill 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 (winter annual; seed overwinters in colder zones) — 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. Long-Beaked Stork's Bill shrugs off cold nights but a real, sustained freeze will kill it.

Concretely, for long-beaked stork's bill 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 long-beaked stork's bill go outside or overwinter — and where?

It can live outside year-round only in the mildest, most sheltered part of USDA 7-10 (winter annual; seed overwinters in colder zones) 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 long-beaked stork's bill 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 long-beaked stork's bill

Long-Beaked Stork's Bill 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.

Long-Beaked Stork's Bill hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is long-beaked stork's bill cold hardy?

Long-Beaked Stork's Bill 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 (winter annual; seed overwinters in colder zones) (and sheltered UK gardens) long-beaked stork's bill can stay out; in colder areas it must be lifted, brought in, or treated as a frost-tender plant.

What is the minimum temperature long-beaked stork's bill can survive?

Minimum survivable temperature is roughly about −5 to 1 °C — a light, short frost only. Long-Beaked Stork's Bill shrugs off cold nights but a real, sustained freeze will kill it.

What hardiness zone is long-beaked stork's bill?

Long-Beaked Stork's Bill is rated USDA 7-10 (winter annual; seed overwinters in colder zones) and RHS H3 — Half-hardy — comes through mild UK winters outside but is killed by a hard freeze.

Can long-beaked stork's bill survive winter outside?

It can live outside year-round only in the mildest, most sheltered part of USDA 7-10 (winter annual; seed overwinters in colder zones) 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 long-beaked stork's bill 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.