Frost Hardy Plants

What frost hardy actually means

We grade every plant on the site into three tiers. Frost hardy plants, the ones on this page, take regular winter frosts in their stride once established. Light frost only plants shrug off the odd mild morning but burn in a hard freeze, and frost tender plants belong in the tropics or in pots you can move. The distinction that matters most is age: even the toughest plant here is vulnerable in its first winter or two, because young growth and shallow roots freeze faster than established wood. Buy frost hardy, but still protect new plantings.

Watch your own block too. Cold air drains downhill and pools, so the bottom of a sloping garden can frost a week earlier and a season longer than the top. If one corner blackens the lawn first each winter, give it the hardiest plants you have and save the borderline choices for beds near the house, where walls leak enough warmth to make a real difference.

Choosing between winter structure and summer show

Evergreens carry a cold climate garden through winter. The Little Gem Magnolia holds a glossy 5m column in any frost, Pencil Pine and Spartan Juniper give formal 5m exclamation points under 1.2m wide, and camellias flower in the coldest months. Photinia 'Red Robin' and Sweet Viburnum (Viburnum odoratissimum) remain the fast hedging workhorses, both fully frost hardy. The deciduous camp answers with a different argument: a Japanese Maple or crepe myrtle gives spring growth, summer canopy and blazing autumn colour, and cold nights actually sharpen the display. Most good gardens in frost country run both, evergreen bones with deciduous highlights.

One caution that surprises people: frost hardiness says nothing about humidity. Emerald Green Arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis 'Smaragd') handles freezing winters yet sulks through humid subtropical summers, so match the whole climate, not just the winter minimum.

Where frost hardy plants matter most

This collection is built for Canberra, the tablelands, inland New South Wales and Victoria, the Adelaide Hills, Tasmania and Melbourne's outer fringe, where frosts arrive most winters and stay for weeks. It matters more widely than that, though. Inland valleys behind Perth frost regularly, and even subtropical gardens west of the coastal strip cop several white mornings a year. The natives hold up remarkably well: westringia, Kings Park Special bottlebrush, Coast Banksia, lomandra, kidney weed and the grass tree (Xanthorrhoea glauca) all carry frost hardiness alongside drought tolerance, which is why they anchor low water gardens in cold country. The wider Australian native range can be filtered by frost tolerance.

Planting, spacing and frost protection

In frost prone areas, plant hardy evergreens and deciduous trees in autumn so roots establish over winter, and hold anything borderline until after the last frost in spring. Water in the morning rather than the evening, since wet foliage overnight freezes first.

• Hedges. Sweet Viburnum, Photinia 'Red Robin' and Camellia 'Black Tie' at 1m apart, Japanese Box at 30cm to 40cm for formal edging.
• Narrow screens. Pencil Pine and Spartan Juniper at 1m, Emerald Green Arborvitae at 60cm, Little Gem or Teddy Bear magnolia at 1.5m.
• Native screens and borders. Kings Park Special bottlebrush at 1.5m, Snowstorm Melaleuca at 1m, Lomandra 'Lime Tuff' at 50cm, kidney weed at 20cm for groundcover.
• Massed colour. Annabelle hydrangea at 1m apart for a cold climate classic.

For the first two winters, keep frost cloth handy for new plantings and mulch 75mm deep to insulate the roots. A full guide to screening choices in cold districts sits in our hedging and screening range.

Common questions

My plant burnt in a frost. Should I prune the damage off?

Not yet. The scorched foliage is ugly but it shields the growth underneath from the next freeze. Leave it until all danger of frost has passed in spring, then cut back to clean wood and the plant will replace it quickly.

Are there frost hardy plants for pots?

Plenty. Japanese Box, camellias, Teddy Bear magnolia, rosemary and Lomandra 'Lime Tuff' all live well in containers in cold climates. Remember roots in pots feel the cold more than roots in the ground, so use larger pots and stand them against a wall in the depths of winter.

Will frost hardy plants also cope with heat and drought?

Many here do both: olives, rosemary, pencil pines, westringia, grass trees and most lomandras handle freezing nights and scorching summers, which is exactly what inland gardens need. Check the drought tolerant filter to combine the two.

How cold is too cold for a new plant?

Established stock on this page handles regular frost, but avoid planting anything into ground that frosts nightly. Wait for a mild spell, water in well, and give the plant a few weeks of growth before its first hard freeze.

How does delivery work in winter?

We deliver Australia wide year round, with delivery from $29.95 and no minimum order. Advanced and large stock is freighted at cost, and every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.