Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Salal (Gaultheria shallon)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called Salal, Shallon, Oregon Wintergreen.

More about salal

About Salal

Gaultheria shallon · also called Salal, Shallon · flowering

Gaultheria shallon is a vigorous, spreading evergreen shrub native to the Pacific coast of North America, from Alaska to central California, where it forms dense groundcover in moist, shaded conifer forest. Clusters of pink-tinged, urn-shaped flowers in late spring are followed by edible dark blue-black berries with a mild, sweet flavour long used by Indigenous peoples. It spreads by underground rhizomes and is valued as a low-maintenance, deer-resistant shade plant. Gaultheria shallon is considered non-toxic to dogs and cats and does not appear on ASPCA toxic plant lists.

Cold limit: USDA 6-9 · RHS H5 (-15 to 28°C)

What salal's hardiness rating actually means

Yes — salal is genuinely cold hardy. Rated RHS H5 and USDA 6-9, it lives outdoors all year and needs winter cold rather than protection from it. Its RHS rating of H5 means: Hardy in most of the UK and in cold winters. On the US scale that maps to USDA 6-9 — 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 −15 to −10 °C. Salal is built for winter — once established it takes hard frost and snow in its stride.

Concretely, for salal as it gets too cold:

It tolerates winter lows to about −15 to −10 °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 salal go outside or overwinter — and where?

Plant it out within USDA 6-9 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 salal can be outside. US growers can check USDA zones; UK growers should use the RHS hardiness ratings, which match the H5 figure above.

Salal hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is salal cold hardy?

Yes — salal is genuinely cold hardy. Rated RHS H5 and USDA 6-9, it lives outdoors all year and needs winter cold rather than protection from it. An outdoor plant. Salal is hardy across USDA 6-9; 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 salal can survive?

Minimum survivable temperature is roughly about −15 to −10 °C. Salal is built for winter — once established it takes hard frost and snow in its stride.

What hardiness zone is salal?

Salal is rated USDA 6-9 and RHS H5 — Hardy in most of the UK and in cold winters.

Can salal survive winter outside?

Plant it out within USDA 6-9 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 salal below its minimum temperature?

It tolerates winter lows to about −15 to −10 °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.