Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Tenerife Lavender (Lavandula buchii)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called Tenerife lavender, Jagged lavender, Canary Island lavender.

More about tenerife lavender

About Tenerife Lavender

Lavandula buchii · also called Tenerife lavender, Jagged lavender · herb

Tenerife lavender is an evergreen woody subshrub endemic to the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands, where it grows on dry, volcanic, rocky slopes and in open scrub. Its deeply pinnate or bipinnate, fern-like grey-green leaves give it a uniquely lacy appearance quite distinct from other lavenders, and it produces tall, branching stems of pale violet-blue flowers over a long season, often near-continuously in mild climates. Being native to a warm subtropical island, it is one of the least frost-hardy lavenders and requires a frost-free or near-frost-free environment to overwinter successfully outdoors in most temperate gardens. According to the ASPCA, lavender (Lavandula) is toxic to cats, dogs, and horses.

Cold limit: USDA 9-11 · RHS H2 (0 to 38°C)

Watch for — Root rot (from overwatering or winter wet): Sitting in moist or waterlogged soil — especially in cool temperatures — rapidly induces root and crown rot. This is the most common cause of plant failure; ensure perfect drainage and drastically reduce watering from October to March.

What tenerife lavender's hardiness rating actually means

Tenerife Lavender is half-hardy (RHS H2). It survives a mild winter outdoors in a sheltered spot, but a hard frost kills it — so in colder zones it is lifted, potted, or grown as a tender plant. Its RHS rating of H2 means: Tender — survives a frost-free greenhouse or a very mild, sheltered spot. On the US scale that maps to USDA 9-11 — 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 1 to 5 °C — tolerates cold but no real frost. Tenerife Lavender shrugs off cold nights but a real, sustained freeze will kill it.

Concretely, for tenerife lavender as it gets too cold:

Down to roughly about 1 to 5 °C it copes, especially if dry and sheltered.
A sustained hard frost collapses the top growth; whether it returns depends on whether the roots, crown or tubers froze.
Wet cold is far more lethal than dry cold for this plant — soggy, frozen soil is the usual killer.

Can tenerife lavender go outside or overwinter — and where?

It can live outside year-round only in the mildest, most sheltered part of USDA 9-11 or a frost-free UK microclimate.
In colder zones, grow it in a pot you can move under cover, or lift its tubers/roots and store them frost-free over winter.
A south-facing wall, free-draining soil and a dry winter position can push it a full zone hardier than the books suggest.

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 tenerife lavender can be outside. US growers can check USDA zones; UK growers should use the RHS hardiness ratings, which match the H2 figure above.

Frost protection for borderline tenerife lavender

Tenerife Lavender is right on a hardiness edge in many gardens, so if you are pushing it, these measures buy it the margin it needs:

Mulch the crown or root zone deeply with bark, straw or leaf-mould before the first hard frost.
Move container plants against a warm wall or into an unheated but frost-free porch or greenhouse.
Fleece the top growth on the coldest nights, and keep it on the dry side — dry roots survive cold far better than wet ones.
Lift dahlia-type tubers or tender crowns after the first light frost blackens the foliage and store them somewhere cool but frost-free.

Tenerife Lavender hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is tenerife lavender cold hardy?

Tenerife Lavender is half-hardy (RHS H2). It survives a mild winter outdoors in a sheltered spot, but a hard frost kills it — so in colder zones it is lifted, potted, or grown as a tender plant. Borderline outdoors. In its mild end of USDA 9-11 (and sheltered UK gardens) tenerife lavender can stay out; in colder areas it must be lifted, brought in, or treated as a frost-tender plant.

What is the minimum temperature tenerife lavender can survive?

Minimum survivable temperature is roughly about 1 to 5 °C — tolerates cold but no real frost. Tenerife Lavender shrugs off cold nights but a real, sustained freeze will kill it.

What hardiness zone is tenerife lavender?

Tenerife Lavender is rated USDA 9-11 and RHS H2 — Tender — survives a frost-free greenhouse or a very mild, sheltered spot.

Can tenerife lavender survive winter outside?

It can live outside year-round only in the mildest, most sheltered part of USDA 9-11 or a frost-free UK microclimate. In colder zones, grow it in a pot you can move under cover, or lift its tubers/roots and store them frost-free over winter. A south-facing wall, free-draining soil and a dry winter position can push it a full zone hardier than the books suggest.

How do I protect tenerife lavender from frost?

Mulch the crown or root zone deeply with bark, straw or leaf-mould before the first hard frost. Move container plants against a warm wall or into an unheated but frost-free porch or greenhouse. Fleece the top growth on the coldest nights, and keep it on the dry side — dry roots survive cold far better than wet ones. Lift dahlia-type tubers or tender crowns after the first light frost blackens the foliage and store them somewhere cool but frost-free.