Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Congo Anubias (Anubias heterophylla)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called Variable-leaf Anubias, African Water Fern Anubias.

More about congo anubias

About Congo Anubias

Anubias heterophylla · also called Variable-leaf Anubias, African Water Fern Anubias · tropical

One of the largest Anubias species, native to central Africa, producing broad, lance-shaped dark green leaves that can reach 35 cm in length. It makes a dramatic background or midground statement in large aquariums. Like all Anubias it demands rhizome attachment to hardscape, not substrate burial. Slow-growing and exceptionally hardy. As an aroid it is toxic to pets.

Cold limit: USDA N/A (aquatic, tropical) · RHS N/A (22-30°C)

What congo anubias's hardiness rating actually means

Congo 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). Congo Anubias has no frost tolerance at all — it is an indoor plant in any climate with a real winter.

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

Congo Anubias hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is congo anubias cold hardy?

Congo 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. Congo 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 congo anubias can survive?

What hardiness zone is congo anubias?

Congo 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 congo 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 congo 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.