Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Black Velvet Anthurium (Anthurium papillilaminum)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called Black Velvet Anthurium, Velvet Anthurium, Papillilaminum.

More about black velvet anthurium

About Black Velvet Anthurium

Anthurium papillilaminum · also called Black Velvet Anthurium, Velvet Anthurium · houseplant

Anthurium papillilaminum is a prized aroid from lowland Panama, grown for huge heart-shaped leaves with a deep blackish-green velvet finish. It wants bright indirect light, an airy moist aroid mix and high humidity (60-80%). Like all Anthurium, it is toxic to cats and dogs (calcium oxalates) per ASPCA.

Cold limit: USDA Not winter-hardy; grow indoors. Outdoors only in USDA zones 11-12 (frost-free tropics). (18-27C)

What black velvet anthurium's hardiness rating actually means

Black Velvet Anthurium 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 H1b means: Sub-tropical — a normal warm home is fine, but it cannot go outside in a cool season. On the US scale that maps to USDA Not winter-hardy; grow indoors. Outdoors only in USDA zones 11-12 (frost-free tropics). — 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 10 °C (sustained cold below this is damaging). Black Velvet Anthurium has no frost tolerance at all — it is an indoor plant in any climate with a real winter.

Concretely, for black velvet anthurium as it gets too cold:

Below about about 10 °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 black velvet anthurium go outside or overwinter — and where?

It can holiday outdoors in summer once nights are reliably above 10 °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 black velvet anthurium can be outside. US growers can check USDA zones; UK growers should use the RHS hardiness ratings, which match the H1b figure above.

Black Velvet Anthurium hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is black velvet anthurium cold hardy?

Black Velvet Anthurium 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. Black Velvet Anthurium can only live outside year-round in genuinely frost-free climates (roughly USDA Not winter-hardy; grow indoors. Outdoors only in USDA zones 11-12 (frost-free tropics).); everywhere else it is a houseplant that summers out at most.

What is the minimum temperature black velvet anthurium can survive?

What hardiness zone is black velvet anthurium?

Black Velvet Anthurium is rated USDA Not winter-hardy; grow indoors. Outdoors only in USDA zones 11-12 (frost-free tropics). and RHS H1b — Sub-tropical — a normal warm home is fine, but it cannot go outside in a cool season.

Can black velvet anthurium survive winter outside?

It can holiday outdoors in summer once nights are reliably above 10 °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 black velvet anthurium below its minimum temperature?

Below about about 10 °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.