Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Coffee-leaf Anubias (Anubias coffeifolia)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called Coffee Anubias, Coffeifolia Anubias.

More about coffee-leaf anubias

About Coffee-leaf Anubias

Anubias coffeifolia · also called Coffee Anubias, Coffeifolia Anubias · tropical

A distinctive cultivar or variety of Anubias producing deeply corrugated, dark green leaves that strikingly resemble coffee plant foliage. It is highly popular in planted aquariums for its unusual leaf texture and slow, hardy growth. Like all Anubias, it thrives when the rhizome is attached to hardscape rather than buried in substrate. As an aroid it contains calcium oxalates and is toxic to pets.

Cold limit: USDA N/A (aquatic, tropical) · RHS N/A (22-28°C)

What coffee-leaf anubias's hardiness rating actually means

Coffee-leaf Anubias 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 N/A (aquatic, tropical) — 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). Coffee-leaf Anubias has no frost tolerance at all — it is an indoor plant in any climate with a real winter.

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

Coffee-leaf Anubias hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is coffee-leaf anubias cold hardy?

Coffee-leaf Anubias 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. Coffee-leaf Anubias can only live outside year-round in genuinely frost-free climates (roughly USDA N/A (aquatic, tropical)); everywhere else it is a houseplant that summers out at most.

What is the minimum temperature coffee-leaf anubias can survive?

What hardiness zone is coffee-leaf anubias?

Coffee-leaf Anubias is rated USDA N/A (aquatic, tropical) and RHS H1b — Sub-tropical — a normal warm home is fine, but it cannot go outside in a cool season.

Can coffee-leaf anubias 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 coffee-leaf anubias 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.