Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Wood Avens (Geum urbanum)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called Wood Avens, Herb Bennet, Colewort, Old Man's Whiskers.

More about wood avens

About Wood Avens

Geum urbanum · also called Wood Avens, Herb Bennet · flowering

Wood avens is a semi-evergreen perennial native throughout the UK, found in shaded woodland, hedgerow bases, and damp scrub on a wide range of soils from acidic to calcareous. Small, bright yellow five-petalled flowers from May to August are followed by distinctive bur-like seed heads that cling to fur and clothing, aiding dispersal. It is one of the easiest shade-tolerant perennials for a wildlife garden, requiring no feeding and tolerating neglect, but it self-seeds freely and can become weedy. Wood avens is considered non-toxic to cats and dogs; the ASPCA lists avens as safe, and it has a long history of culinary use of the clove-scented roots.

Cold limit: USDA 3-7 · RHS H7 (-20–25 °C)

What wood avens's hardiness rating actually means

Yes — wood avens is genuinely cold hardy. Rated RHS H7 and USDA 3-7, it lives outdoors all year and needs winter cold rather than protection from it. Its RHS rating of H7 means: Hardy in the severest European continental winters. On the US scale that maps to USDA 3-7 — 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 below about −20 °C. Wood Avens is built for winter — once established it takes hard frost and snow in its stride.

Concretely, for wood avens as it gets too cold:

It tolerates winter lows to about −20 °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 wood avens go outside or overwinter — and where?

Plant it out within USDA 3-7 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 wood avens can be outside. US growers can check USDA zones; UK growers should use the RHS hardiness ratings, which match the H7 figure above.

Wood Avens hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is wood avens cold hardy?

Yes — wood avens is genuinely cold hardy. Rated RHS H7 and USDA 3-7, it lives outdoors all year and needs winter cold rather than protection from it. An outdoor plant. Wood Avens is hardy across USDA 3-7; 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 wood avens can survive?

Minimum survivable temperature is roughly below about −20 °C. Wood Avens is built for winter — once established it takes hard frost and snow in its stride.

What hardiness zone is wood avens?

Wood Avens is rated USDA 3-7 and RHS H7 — Hardy in the severest European continental winters.

Can wood avens survive winter outside?

Plant it out within USDA 3-7 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 wood avens below its minimum temperature?

It tolerates winter lows to about −20 °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.