Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Sweet Cicely (Myrrhis odorata)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called sweet cicely, garden myrrh, anise fern.

More about sweet cicely

About Sweet Cicely

Myrrhis odorata · also called sweet cicely, garden myrrh · herb

Sweet cicely is a hardy perennial herb with soft, fern-like foliage and an aniseed-sweet flavour used to reduce the sugar needed when stewing tart fruit. It forms a clump of feathery leaves topped by lacy white umbels in late spring. Thriving in cool, partly shaded gardens, it self-seeds freely and dies back over winter.

Cold limit: USDA 3-7 (outdoor cool-temperate perennial) · RHS H7 (5-20°C)

What sweet cicely's hardiness rating actually means

Yes — sweet cicely is genuinely cold hardy. Rated RHS H7 and USDA 3-7 (outdoor cool-temperate perennial), 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 3-7 (outdoor cool-temperate perennial) — 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. Sweet Cicely is built for winter — once established it takes hard frost and snow in its stride.

Concretely, for sweet cicely 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 sweet cicely go outside or overwinter — and where?

Plant it out within USDA 3-7 (outdoor cool-temperate perennial) 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 sweet cicely can be outside. US growers can check USDA zones; UK growers should use the RHS hardiness ratings, which match the H7 figure above.

Sweet Cicely hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is sweet cicely cold hardy?

Yes — sweet cicely is genuinely cold hardy. Rated RHS H7 and USDA 3-7 (outdoor cool-temperate perennial), it lives outdoors all year and needs winter cold rather than protection from it. An outdoor plant. Sweet Cicely is hardy across USDA 3-7 (outdoor cool-temperate perennial); 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 sweet cicely can survive?

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

What hardiness zone is sweet cicely?

Sweet Cicely is rated USDA 3-7 (outdoor cool-temperate perennial) and RHS H7 — Hardy in the severest European continental winters.

Can sweet cicely survive winter outside?

Plant it out within USDA 3-7 (outdoor cool-temperate perennial) 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 sweet cicely 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.