Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is The Pilgrim Rose (Rosa 'The Pilgrim')cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called The Pilgrim, Auswalker.

More about the pilgrim rose

About The Pilgrim Rose

Rosa 'The Pilgrim' · also called The Pilgrim, Auswalker · flowering

The Pilgrim (Auswalker) is a David Austin English rose grown as a shrub or climber. Soft lemon-yellow, many-petalled flowers open flat into neat rosettes, fading paler at the rim, with a balanced tea-and-myrrh fragrance. Vigorous and healthy, it repeat-flowers all season and trains well to around 3m on walls, arches and pillars, or stays bushy as a shrub.

Cold limit: USDA 5-10 (hardy shrub/climber) · RHS H6 (-23 to 30°C)

What the pilgrim rose's hardiness rating actually means

Yes — the pilgrim rose is genuinely cold hardy. Rated RHS H6 and USDA 5-10 (hardy shrub/climber), it lives outdoors all year and needs winter cold rather than protection from it. Its RHS rating of H6 means: Hardy throughout the UK and northern Europe. On the US scale that maps to USDA 5-10 (hardy shrub/climber) — 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 −20 to −15 °C. The Pilgrim Rose is built for winter — once established it takes hard frost and snow in its stride.

Concretely, for the pilgrim rose as it gets too cold:

It tolerates winter lows to about −20 to −15 °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 the pilgrim rose go outside or overwinter — and where?

Plant it out within USDA 5-10 (hardy shrub/climber) 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 the pilgrim rose can be outside. US growers can check USDA zones; UK growers should use the RHS hardiness ratings, which match the H6 figure above.

The Pilgrim Rose hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is the pilgrim rose cold hardy?

Yes — the pilgrim rose is genuinely cold hardy. Rated RHS H6 and USDA 5-10 (hardy shrub/climber), it lives outdoors all year and needs winter cold rather than protection from it. An outdoor plant. The Pilgrim Rose is hardy across USDA 5-10 (hardy shrub/climber); 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 the pilgrim rose can survive?

Minimum survivable temperature is roughly about −20 to −15 °C. The Pilgrim Rose is built for winter — once established it takes hard frost and snow in its stride.

What hardiness zone is the pilgrim rose?

The Pilgrim Rose is rated USDA 5-10 (hardy shrub/climber) and RHS H6 — Hardy throughout the UK and northern Europe.

Can the pilgrim rose survive winter outside?

Plant it out within USDA 5-10 (hardy shrub/climber) 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 the pilgrim rose below its minimum temperature?

It tolerates winter lows to about −20 to −15 °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.