Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Weigela 'Midnight Wine' (Weigela florida 'Elvera')cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called Midnight Wine Weigela, Elvera Weigela.

More about weigela 'midnight wine'

About Weigela 'Midnight Wine'

Weigela florida 'Elvera' · also called Midnight Wine Weigela, Elvera Weigela · flowering

A very compact dwarf deciduous shrub with deep burgundy-wine foliage that holds colour all season. Pink-magenta bell-shaped flowers appear in late spring. Excellent for borders, containers, and small gardens. One of the smallest Weigela cultivars, remaining tidy without heavy pruning. Mildly-toxic as a precaution.

Cold limit: USDA 4-8 · RHS H6 (-20 to 32°C)

What weigela 'midnight wine''s hardiness rating actually means

Yes — weigela 'midnight wine' is genuinely cold hardy. Rated RHS H6 and USDA 4-8, 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 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 about −20 to −15 °C. Weigela 'Midnight Wine' is built for winter — once established it takes hard frost and snow in its stride.

Concretely, for weigela 'midnight wine' 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 weigela 'midnight wine' 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 weigela 'midnight wine' can be outside. US growers can check USDA zones; UK growers should use the RHS hardiness ratings, which match the H6 figure above.

Weigela 'Midnight Wine' hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is weigela 'midnight wine' cold hardy?

Yes — weigela 'midnight wine' is genuinely cold hardy. Rated RHS H6 and USDA 4-8, it lives outdoors all year and needs winter cold rather than protection from it. An outdoor plant. Weigela 'Midnight Wine' 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 weigela 'midnight wine' can survive?

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

What hardiness zone is weigela 'midnight wine'?

Weigela 'Midnight Wine' is rated USDA 4-8 and RHS H6 — Hardy throughout the UK and northern Europe.

Can weigela 'midnight wine' 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 weigela 'midnight wine' 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.