Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Sanguisorba officinalis (Sanguisorba officinalis)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called great burnet, blood-wort.

More about sanguisorba officinalis

About Sanguisorba officinalis

Sanguisorba officinalis · also called great burnet, blood-wort · flowering

A graceful meadow perennial bearing deep maroon-red, bottlebrush flower heads on tall, wiry stems from midsummer into autumn, swaying above pinnate, fern-like foliage. Native to damp grasslands, great burnet reaches up to 1.2 m and brings airy, see-through structure to naturalistic borders. Hardy and pollinator-rich, it suits prairie and meadow planting beautifully.

Cold limit: USDA 4-8 · RHS H7 (-25 to 26°C)

What sanguisorba officinalis's hardiness rating actually means

Yes — sanguisorba officinalis is genuinely cold hardy. Rated RHS H7 and USDA 4-8, 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 4-8 — 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. Sanguisorba officinalis is built for winter — once established it takes hard frost and snow in its stride.

Concretely, for sanguisorba officinalis 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 sanguisorba officinalis go outside or overwinter — and where?

Plant it out within USDA 4-8 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 sanguisorba officinalis can be outside. US growers can check USDA zones; UK growers should use the RHS hardiness ratings, which match the H7 figure above.

Sanguisorba officinalis hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is sanguisorba officinalis cold hardy?

Yes — sanguisorba officinalis is genuinely cold hardy. Rated RHS H7 and USDA 4-8, it lives outdoors all year and needs winter cold rather than protection from it. An outdoor plant. Sanguisorba officinalis is hardy across USDA 4-8; 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 sanguisorba officinalis can survive?

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

What hardiness zone is sanguisorba officinalis?

Sanguisorba officinalis is rated USDA 4-8 and RHS H7 — Hardy in the severest European continental winters.

Can sanguisorba officinalis survive winter outside?

Plant it out within USDA 4-8 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 sanguisorba officinalis 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.