Canadian Cultivar Hardiness — Cold-Hardy Cultivars by Zone
Which named variety survives your winter? A free, sourced reference table of 51 ornamental and fruit cultivars across 9 plant groups, rated by Natural Resources Canada plant hardiness zone — cross-checked against our growing guides, borderline ratings flagged.
At a glance: This dataset rates 51 named cultivars across 9 plant groups by their hardy-to Natural Resources Canada zone. The hardiest, rated to Zone 2, are Rugosa (Rosa rugosa), Common lilac (Syringa vulgaris), Preston hybrids (S. x prestoniae) — several the product of Canadian cold-climate breeding (Agriculture Canada's Explorer & Parkland roses, Ottawa's Preston lilacs). Cultivar hardiness is breeder/nursery-rated, so treat a variety rated right at your zone as borderline and give it a sheltered spot. Free to cite with a link to this page.
📥 Download the dataset
All 51 cultivars — plant, cultivar, type, hardy-to zone, notes and source — as a free CSV.
Canadian cultivar cold-hardiness by zone, compiled by GrowersGuide.ca (NRCan hardiness zones; Canadian breeding-program sources noted per row)
Cultivars by Hardiness Zone
Scan by your zone: every cultivar rated to a given zone also grows in every milder (higher-numbered) zone. So a Zone 3 gardener can grow everything rated Zone 2 and 3.
Hardy to zone
Cultivars
Examples
Z2
3
Rugosa (Rosa rugosa), Common lilac (Syringa vulgaris), Preston hybrids (S. x prestoniae)
Grouped by plant, hardiest cultivar first. "Hardy to" is the coldest Natural Resources Canada zone where the cultivar is a reasonable bet with the right site — treat the coldest figure as borderline.
Lilac (4 cultivars, hardiest Zone 2)
Cultivar
Type
Hardy to
Notes
Common lilac (Syringa vulgaris)
Shrub
Z2
Among Canada's hardiest shrubs; needs winter chill (poor in Zone 7b+)
Preston hybrids (S. x prestoniae)
Shrub
Z2
Bred in Ottawa by Isabella Preston; late-blooming
'Miss Kim' (Korean, S. pubescens)
Shrub
Z3
Compact, fragrant; good fall colour
Japanese tree lilac 'Ivory Silk' (S. reticulata)
Small tree
Z3
Creamy-white June bloom; small street tree
Rose (8 cultivars, hardiest Zone 2)
Cultivar
Type
Hardy to
Notes
Rugosa (Rosa rugosa)
Species shrub rose
Z2
Hardiest garden rose; salt- and wind-tolerant
'John Cabot' (Explorer)
Shrub/climber rose
Z3
Canadian-bred Explorer climber
'William Baffin' (Explorer)
Shrub/climber rose
Z3
Vigorous Explorer climber; survives to Zone 2 under snow
'Champlain' (Explorer)
Shrub rose
Z3
Recurrent red Explorer shrub rose
'Henry Kelsey' (Explorer)
Climber rose
Z3
Red Explorer climber
'Morden Blush' (Parkland)
Shrub rose
Z3
Parkland/Morden series; very long bloom
'Prairie Joy' (Parkland)
Shrub rose
Z3
Hardy Canadian-bred shrub rose
'Winnipeg Parks' (Parkland)
Shrub rose
Z3
Parkland series; compact red
Clematis (5 cultivars, hardiest Zone 3)
Cultivar
Type
Hardy to
Notes
'Jackmanii'
Vine
Z3
The Canadian workhorse; group 3, hard-prune each spring
alpina (Blue Dancer, Constance)
Vine
Z3
Spring species; very hardy; group 1
macropetala (Markham's Pink)
Vine
Z3
Nodding spring flowers; very hardy
viticella 'Polish Spirit'
Vine
Z4
Group 3; disease-resistant
'Nelly Moser' / 'The President'
Vine
Z5
Large-flowered types; more reliable Zone 5+
Hydrangea (8 cultivars, hardiest Zone 3)
Cultivar
Type
Hardy to
Notes
'Limelight' (paniculata)
Shrub
Z3
Panicle; chartreuse-to-pink; blooms on new wood (reliable bloom)
'Little Lime' (paniculata)
Shrub
Z3
Compact 'Limelight'
'Quick Fire' (paniculata)
Shrub
Z3
Earliest panicle bloomer (June)
'Bobo' (paniculata)
Shrub
Z3
Dwarf panicle
'Annabelle' (arborescens)
Shrub
Z3
Smooth hydrangea; blooms on new wood; stems can flop
'Incrediball' (arborescens)
Shrub
Z3
Strong-stemmed 'Annabelle' — no flopping
'Vanilla Strawberry' (paniculata)
Shrub
Z4
White-to-strawberry-red panicles
'Endless Summer' (macrophylla)
Shrub
Z5
Reblooming bigleaf mophead; borderline Zone 4 with a winter burlap wrap
Ginkgo (6 cultivars, hardiest Zone 4)
Cultivar
Type
Hardy to
Notes
'Autumn Gold'
Shade tree (male clone)
Z4
Broad, symmetrical male; uniform gold fall colour; fruitless
'Princeton Sentry'
Shade tree (male clone)
Z4
Narrow columnar (fastigiate) male; fruitless; for tight spaces
'Magyar'
Shade tree (male clone)
Z4
Upright pyramidal male with a strong central leader
Very compact dwarf; best container palmatum for Canada
'Emperor I'
Small tree
Z4b
Upright red; hardier than 'Bloodgood' by ~1 zone
'Sango Kaku' (Coral Bark)
Small tree
Z4b
Coral-red winter bark; needs shelter from winter wind
'Beni Kawa'
Small tree
Z4b
Like 'Sango Kaku', slightly hardier
'Bloodgood'
Small tree
Z5
Standard upright red; struggles in Zone 4 without a sheltered site
'Osakazuki'
Small tree
Z5b
Green leaves; the most vivid scarlet fall colour of any cultivar
Magnolia (4 cultivars, hardiest Zone 4)
Cultivar
Type
Hardy to
Notes
Star magnolia (M. stellata)
Small tree
Z4
Early white stars; hardier than saucer types
'Merrill' (M. x loebneri)
Small tree
Z4
Vigorous, white, fragrant
Little Girl series (Ann, Jane, Susan)
Large shrub
Z4
Later bloom dodges late spring frost
Saucer magnolia (M. x soulangeana)
Small tree
Z5
Showiest; April bloom often caught by late frost in Zone 5
Dawn redwood (4 cultivars, hardiest Zone 5)
Cultivar
Type
Hardy to
Notes
species
Deciduous conifer
Z5
Fast, full-size; borderline Zone 4b in shelter; wants steady moisture
'Gold Rush' / 'Ogon'
Deciduous conifer
Z5
Golden foliage; slower and smaller; give a sheltered site
'Miss Grace'
Deciduous conifer (dwarf)
Z5
Weeping dwarf for a specimen spot
'North Light' (Schirrmann's Nordlicht)
Deciduous conifer (dwarf)
Z5
Slow, compact; cream-flushed new growth
Pawpaw (6 cultivars, hardiest Zone 5)
Cultivar
Type
Hardy to
Notes
'NC-1'
Fruit tree
Z5
Cold-hardy, early-ripening, Ontario roots; tree hardy to 4b (fruit may not finish in coldest gardens)
'Sunflower'
Fruit tree
Z5
Vigorous, large fruit; more self-fertile (still plant two)
'Shenandoah'
Fruit tree
Z5
Peterson selection; excellent flavour and texture
'Mango'
Fruit tree
Z5
Earlier ripening; useful insurance in cooler Zone 5
'Pennsylvania Golden'
Fruit tree
Z5
Early ripening
'Susquehanna'
Fruit tree
Z6
Peterson selection; large fruit, few seeds; best Zone 6+
Methodology & Sources
What "hardy to Zone X" means: the coldest Natural Resources Canada plant hardiness zone (planthardiness.gc.ca) where the cultivar is a reasonable bet with correct siting. Every milder (higher-numbered) zone can grow it too.
Sources. Ratings are compiled from breeder, nursery and botanical-garden records and from named Canadian cold-climate breeding programs — Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's Explorer and Parkland/Morden rose series, and Isabella Preston's Ottawa-bred lilacs — noted per row in the CSV.
Cross-checked. Every rating is reconciled against this site's own growing guides, so the dataset never contradicts our published advice.
Honest caveat. Cultivar hardiness is not measured data like the ECCC frost normals — it is breeder/nursery-rated and varies with microclimate, snow cover, wind and siting. Treat any cultivar rated right at your zone as borderline; a sheltered spot and good drainage often buy a half-zone.
Live-computed. The by-zone counts, hardiest-cultivar figures and per-plant groupings on this page are computed from the downloadable CSV on every load — nothing is hand-typed.
For collectors, garden clubs, societies & nurseries
This table is free to quote and republish — in newsletters, society bulletins, plant-sale handouts or your own site — with credit to GrowersGuide.ca and a link to this page. Growing a cultivar we haven't rated, or have rated too conservatively for your area? Tell us — corrections and additions from experienced Canadian growers make this dataset better: zusashicanada@gmail.com.
We'd rather cite your Zone-3 success with a "borderline" cultivar than leave it off the list.
Use of This Data
The compiled dataset on this page is free to use with attribution to GrowersGuide.ca (a link to this page is sufficient). Where a rating derives from a named breeding program (Explorer/Parkland roses, Preston lilacs) or breeder, please credit that primary source too. Cultivar hardiness is a guide, not a guarantee — provided as-is, without warranty; verify against your local zone and conditions before buying.
