Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Mountain Everlasting (Antennaria dioica)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called Mountain Everlasting, Cat's Foot, Catsfoot.

More about mountain everlasting

About Mountain Everlasting

Antennaria dioica · also called Mountain Everlasting, Cat's Foot · flowering

Mountain Everlasting is a low-growing alpine perennial native to European and North American mountain meadows. It forms silvery, woolly rosette mats with small pink or white papery everlasting flower heads in late spring. Thrives in full sun with excellent drainage and poor, dry soil — a superb rock garden or alpine trough plant.

Cold limit: USDA 3-8 · RHS H7 (-25°C to 20°C)

Watch for — Crown rot: The leading cause of death. Caused by overwatering or poorly drained soil, especially in winter. Ensure gritty, free-draining substrate and reduce watering to almost nothing when dormant.

What mountain everlasting's hardiness rating actually means

Yes — mountain everlasting is genuinely cold hardy. Rated RHS H7 and USDA 3-8, it lives outdoors all year and needs winter cold rather than protection from it. Its RHS rating of H7 means: Hardy in the severest European continental winters. On the US scale that maps to USDA 3-8 — 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 below about −20 °C. Mountain Everlasting is built for winter — once established it takes hard frost and snow in its stride.

Concretely, for mountain everlasting as it gets too cold:

It tolerates winter lows to about −20 °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 mountain everlasting go outside or overwinter — and where?

Plant it out within USDA 3-8 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 mountain everlasting can be outside. US growers can check USDA zones; UK growers should use the RHS hardiness ratings, which match the H7 figure above.

Mountain Everlasting hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is mountain everlasting cold hardy?

Yes — mountain everlasting is genuinely cold hardy. Rated RHS H7 and USDA 3-8, it lives outdoors all year and needs winter cold rather than protection from it. An outdoor plant. Mountain Everlasting is hardy across USDA 3-8; 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 mountain everlasting can survive?

Minimum survivable temperature is roughly below about −20 °C. Mountain Everlasting is built for winter — once established it takes hard frost and snow in its stride.

What hardiness zone is mountain everlasting?

Mountain Everlasting is rated USDA 3-8 and RHS H7 — Hardy in the severest European continental winters.

Can mountain everlasting survive winter outside?

Plant it out within USDA 3-8 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 mountain everlasting below its minimum temperature?

It tolerates winter lows to about −20 °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.