Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Anthurium scandens (Anthurium scandens)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called pearl laceleaf, climbing anthurium.

More about anthurium scandens

About Anthurium scandens

Anthurium scandens · also called pearl laceleaf, climbing anthurium · tropical

Anthurium scandens is a small climbing epiphyte from Central and South American rainforests, grown for its neat leathery leaves and clusters of translucent white-to-lilac berries that give it the name pearl laceleaf. It scrambles up bark and moss totems, wanting bright indirect light, an airy mix, warmth, and consistently high humidity to thrive indoors.

Cold limit: USDA 11-12 (indoor in most US homes) · RHS H1b (18-28°C)

What anthurium scandens's hardiness rating actually means

Anthurium scandens 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 11-12 (indoor in most US homes) — 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). Anthurium scandens has no frost tolerance at all — it is an indoor plant in any climate with a real winter.

Concretely, for anthurium scandens 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 anthurium scandens 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 anthurium scandens can be outside. US growers can check USDA zones; UK growers should use the RHS hardiness ratings, which match the H1b figure above.

Anthurium scandens hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is anthurium scandens cold hardy?

Anthurium scandens 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. Anthurium scandens can only live outside year-round in genuinely frost-free climates (roughly USDA 11-12 (indoor in most US homes)); everywhere else it is a houseplant that summers out at most.

What is the minimum temperature anthurium scandens can survive?

What hardiness zone is anthurium scandens?

Anthurium scandens is rated USDA 11-12 (indoor in most US homes) and RHS H1b — Sub-tropical — a normal warm home is fine, but it cannot go outside in a cool season.

Can anthurium scandens 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 anthurium scandens 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.