Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Winter savory (Satureja montana)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called mountain savory, sariette de montagne.

About Winter savory

Satureja montana · also called mountain savory, sariette de montagne · herb

Winter savory is a hardy perennial cousin of summer savory with stronger peppery flavour and a low woody shrub habit. Long-lived in poor sunny soil; useful in pizza and bean dishes. Pet-safe in culinary amounts.

Satureja montana, a semi-evergreen dwarf sub-shrub in the Lamiaceae, is native to rocky slopes of southern Europe and the Mediterranean. Unlike annual summer savory (S. hortensis), it is a true woody perennial, hardy through most of the UK.

Forms a compact woody mound with whorled purple summer flowers; pick tips regularly to keep it bushy and productive. Growth slows markedly as temperatures and light levels drop in winter.

Cold limit: USDA 4-9 · RHS H5 (15-26°C)

Watch for — Winter wet rot: Hates wet feet; plant on slopes or raised beds.

Sources: rhs.org.uk, rhs.org.uk, plants.ces.ncsu.edu

What winter savory's hardiness rating actually means

Yes — winter savory is genuinely cold hardy. Rated RHS H5 and USDA 4-9, 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 4-9 — 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. Winter savory is built for winter — once established it takes hard frost and snow in its stride.

Concretely, for winter savory 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 winter savory go outside or overwinter — and where?

Plant it out within USDA 4-9 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 winter savory can be outside. US growers can check USDA zones; UK growers should use the RHS hardiness ratings, which match the H5 figure above.

Winter savory hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is winter savory cold hardy?

Yes — winter savory is genuinely cold hardy. Rated RHS H5 and USDA 4-9, it lives outdoors all year and needs winter cold rather than protection from it. An outdoor plant. Winter savory is hardy across USDA 4-9; 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 winter savory can survive?

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

What hardiness zone is winter savory?

Winter savory is rated USDA 4-9 and RHS H5 — Hardy in most of the UK and in cold winters.

Can winter savory survive winter outside?

Plant it out within USDA 4-9 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 winter savory 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.