Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Arrowhead plant (Syngonium podophyllum)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called nephthytis, goosefoot plant, American evergreen.

About Arrowhead plant

Syngonium podophyllum · also called nephthytis, goosefoot plant · tropical

Arrowhead plant is a fast-growing tropical aroid with arrow-shaped leaves that change shape as the plant matures and climbs. Available in green, pink, and variegated cultivars, it tolerates low light but produces the boldest colour in bright indirect light. Mildly toxic to pets like its philodendron relatives.

Syngonium podophyllum is an aroid vine from the tropical rainforests of Central and South America, climbing tree trunks toward the canopy in nature.

Leaves change with maturity: juvenile plants are bushy with arrow-shaped leaves, then the plant vines and leaves become deeply lobed/palmate; all parts contain insoluble calcium oxalate crystals, toxic to dogs, cats, and horses, causing oral pain, drooling, and vomiting.

Cold limit: USDA 10-12 (indoor in most US homes) · RHS H1b (18-27°C)

Sources: aspca.org, plants.ces.ncsu.edu, missouribotanicalgarden.org

What arrowhead plant's hardiness rating actually means

Arrowhead plant 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 10-12 (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). Arrowhead plant has no frost tolerance at all — it is an indoor plant in any climate with a real winter.

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

Arrowhead plant hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is arrowhead plant cold hardy?

Arrowhead plant 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. Arrowhead plant can only live outside year-round in genuinely frost-free climates (roughly USDA 10-12 (indoor in most US homes)); everywhere else it is a houseplant that summers out at most.

What is the minimum temperature arrowhead plant can survive?

What hardiness zone is arrowhead plant?

Arrowhead plant is rated USDA 10-12 (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 arrowhead plant 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 arrowhead plant 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.