Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Trailing Rock Jasmine (Androsace lanuginosa)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called Trailing rock jasmine, Woolly rock jasmine, Lanuginose androsace.

More about trailing rock jasmine

About Trailing Rock Jasmine

Androsace lanuginosa · also called Trailing rock jasmine, Woolly rock jasmine · flowering

Androsace lanuginosa is a trailing, mat-forming evergreen perennial from the rocky slopes of the Himalayas in northern India and Nepal, forming loose mats of silvery-hairy ovate leaves to 45 cm wide. It bears rounded umbels of lilac-pink flowers with a pale or greenish eye on short stems in mid-summer to early autumn, and is the most free-flowering and garden-amenable Androsace species, holding an RHS Award of Garden Merit. Unlike most high-alpine Androsace, it tolerates slightly better moisture but still requires sharp drainage and is best kept dry overhead in winter. Androsace is not listed by the ASPCA; as no confirmed pet-safety data exists, treat it as mildly toxic and keep away from pets.

Cold limit: USDA 5-7 · RHS H5 (-15 to 22°C)

Watch for — Slugs and snails: Young shoots and the soft hairy foliage are attractive to slugs in damp weather; use iron phosphate pellets around the base or apply biological nematode control (Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita) when soil temperature exceeds 5°C.

What trailing rock jasmine's hardiness rating actually means

Yes — trailing rock jasmine is genuinely cold hardy. Rated RHS H5 and USDA 5-7, 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 5-7 — 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. Trailing Rock Jasmine is built for winter — once established it takes hard frost and snow in its stride.

Concretely, for trailing rock jasmine 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 trailing rock jasmine go outside or overwinter — and where?

Plant it out within USDA 5-7 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 trailing rock jasmine can be outside. US growers can check USDA zones; UK growers should use the RHS hardiness ratings, which match the H5 figure above.

Trailing Rock Jasmine hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is trailing rock jasmine cold hardy?

Yes — trailing rock jasmine is genuinely cold hardy. Rated RHS H5 and USDA 5-7, it lives outdoors all year and needs winter cold rather than protection from it. An outdoor plant. Trailing Rock Jasmine is hardy across USDA 5-7; 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 trailing rock jasmine can survive?

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

What hardiness zone is trailing rock jasmine?

Trailing Rock Jasmine is rated USDA 5-7 and RHS H5 — Hardy in most of the UK and in cold winters.

Can trailing rock jasmine survive winter outside?

Plant it out within USDA 5-7 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 trailing rock jasmine 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.