Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Amboina Kauri (Agathis dammara)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called Dammar Kauri, Amboyna Kauri, Manila Copal.

More about amboina kauri

About Amboina Kauri

Agathis dammara · also called Dammar Kauri, Amboyna Kauri · flowering

Amboina Kauri is a large tropical conifer native to Southeast Asia, valued for its broad, leathery leaves, impressive resinous trunk, and towering form. In cooler climates it is grown in large containers in warm conservatories. Not typically listed toxic by ASPCA; grown mainly outdoors in tropical zones or as a conservatory specimen.

Cold limit: USDA 10-12 · RHS H1c (15-32°C)

What amboina kauri's hardiness rating actually means

Amboina Kauri is not cold hardy. It is a tropical houseplant that dies if it is left out through frost — there is no zone where it overwinters outdoors in a UK or cold-US climate. Its RHS rating of H1c means: Warm-temperate — can summer outdoors but must come in well before the first frost. On the US scale that maps to USDA 10-12 — 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 5 °C (and never frost). Amboina Kauri has no frost tolerance at all — it is an indoor plant in any climate with a real winter.

Concretely, for amboina kauri as it gets too cold:

Below about about 5 °C, growth stalls and the leaves start to show cold stress — dark, water-soaked, or yellowing patches.
A single light frost blackens the foliage; a hard freeze kills the whole plant, roots included, and it does not recover.
Even a cold, draughty windowsill or an unheated porch in winter can be enough to damage it permanently.

Can amboina kauri go outside or overwinter — and where?

It can holiday outdoors in summer once nights are reliably above 5 °C, in shade or dappled light, hardened off gradually.
Bring it back indoors well before the first autumn frost — do not wait for a frost warning, move it when nights drop toward 10-12 °C.
It will never overwinter outside in a temperate climate; the indoors is its winter home, full stop.

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 amboina kauri can be outside. US growers can check USDA zones; UK growers should use the RHS hardiness ratings, which match the H1c figure above.

Amboina Kauri hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is amboina kauri cold hardy?

Amboina Kauri is not cold hardy. It is a tropical houseplant that dies if it is left out through frost — there is no zone where it overwinters outdoors in a UK or cold-US climate. Indoor-only in almost every home. Amboina Kauri can only live outside year-round in genuinely frost-free climates (roughly USDA 10-12); everywhere else it is a houseplant that summers out at most.

What is the minimum temperature amboina kauri can survive?

Minimum survivable temperature is roughly about 5 °C (and never frost). Amboina Kauri has no frost tolerance at all — it is an indoor plant in any climate with a real winter.

What hardiness zone is amboina kauri?

Amboina Kauri is rated USDA 10-12 and RHS H1c — Warm-temperate — can summer outdoors but must come in well before the first frost.

Can amboina kauri survive winter outside?

It can holiday outdoors in summer once nights are reliably above 5 °C, in shade or dappled light, hardened off gradually. Bring it back indoors well before the first autumn frost — do not wait for a frost warning, move it when nights drop toward 10-12 °C. It will never overwinter outside in a temperate climate; the indoors is its winter home, full stop.

What happens to amboina kauri below its minimum temperature?

Below about about 5 °C, growth stalls and the leaves start to show cold stress — dark, water-soaked, or yellowing patches. A single light frost blackens the foliage; a hard freeze kills the whole plant, roots included, and it does not recover. Even a cold, draughty windowsill or an unheated porch in winter can be enough to damage it permanently.