Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Wood Sage (Teucrium scorodonia)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called Wood Sage, Woodland Germander, Sage-leaved Germander.

More about wood sage

About Wood Sage

Teucrium scorodonia · also called Wood Sage, Woodland Germander · herb

Wood sage is a rhizomatous, clump-forming herbaceous perennial native to dry, acidic woodland, heathland, and rocky slopes throughout western and central Europe. Despite its common name, it is not a true sage (Salvia) but belongs to Lamiaceae and has distinctive garlic-scented foliage when crushed. It tolerates poor, acid, free-draining soils in partial shade and is exceptionally low-maintenance once established. As with other Teucrium species it contains potentially hepatotoxic diterpenoids and should be treated as mildly-toxic to pets as a precaution.

Cold limit: USDA 5-9 · RHS H7 (-20 to 28°C)

What wood sage's hardiness rating actually means

Yes — wood sage is genuinely cold hardy. Rated RHS H7 and USDA 5-9, 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 5-9 — 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 below about −20 °C. Wood Sage is built for winter — once established it takes hard frost and snow in its stride.

Concretely, for wood sage 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 sage go outside or overwinter — and where?

Plant it out within USDA 5-9 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 wood sage can be outside. US growers can check USDA zones; UK growers should use the RHS hardiness ratings, which match the H7 figure above.

Wood Sage hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is wood sage cold hardy?

Yes — wood sage is genuinely cold hardy. Rated RHS H7 and USDA 5-9, it lives outdoors all year and needs winter cold rather than protection from it. An outdoor plant. Wood Sage is hardy across USDA 5-9; 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 wood sage can survive?

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

What hardiness zone is wood sage?

Wood Sage is rated USDA 5-9 and RHS H7 — Hardy in the severest European continental winters.

Can wood sage survive winter outside?

Plant it out within USDA 5-9 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 wood sage 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.