Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Mara des Bois Strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa 'Mara des Bois')cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called Mara des Bois strawberry, ever-bearing strawberry.

More about mara des bois strawberry

About Mara des Bois Strawberry

Fragaria × ananassa 'Mara des Bois' · also called Mara des Bois strawberry, ever-bearing strawberry · edible

'Mara des Bois' is a French ever-bearing (day-neutral) strawberry prized for an intense, perfumed wild-strawberry flavour. It fruits from early summer to first frost in repeated flushes, thriving in full sun and rich, free-draining soil. Compact and runner-producing, it suits beds, raised borders, and large containers, rewarding consistent watering and regular potash feeding.

Cold limit: USDA 4-9 (winter-hardy outdoors; mulch crowns in cold zones) · RHS H6 (15-26°C)

What mara des bois strawberry's hardiness rating actually means

Yes — mara des bois strawberry is genuinely cold hardy. Rated RHS H6 and USDA 4-9 (winter-hardy outdoors; mulch crowns in cold zones), 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 (winter-hardy outdoors; mulch crowns in cold 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 −20 to −15 °C. Mara des Bois Strawberry is built for winter — once established it takes hard frost and snow in its stride.

Concretely, for mara des bois strawberry 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 mara des bois strawberry go outside or overwinter — and where?

Plant it out within USDA 4-9 (winter-hardy outdoors; mulch crowns in cold zones) 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 mara des bois strawberry can be outside. US growers can check USDA zones; UK growers should use the RHS hardiness ratings, which match the H6 figure above.

Mara des Bois Strawberry hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is mara des bois strawberry cold hardy?

Yes — mara des bois strawberry is genuinely cold hardy. Rated RHS H6 and USDA 4-9 (winter-hardy outdoors; mulch crowns in cold zones), it lives outdoors all year and needs winter cold rather than protection from it. An outdoor plant. Mara des Bois Strawberry is hardy across USDA 4-9 (winter-hardy outdoors; mulch crowns in cold zones); 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 mara des bois strawberry can survive?

Minimum survivable temperature is roughly about −20 to −15 °C. Mara des Bois Strawberry is built for winter — once established it takes hard frost and snow in its stride.

What hardiness zone is mara des bois strawberry?

Mara des Bois Strawberry is rated USDA 4-9 (winter-hardy outdoors; mulch crowns in cold zones) and RHS H6 — Hardy throughout the UK and northern Europe.

Can mara des bois strawberry survive winter outside?

Plant it out within USDA 4-9 (winter-hardy outdoors; mulch crowns in cold zones) 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 mara des bois strawberry 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.