Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Yesterday-Today-and-Tomorrow (Brunfelsia pauciflora)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called Yesterday-today-and-tomorrow, Morning-noon-and-night, Kiss-me-quick, Lady-of-the-night, Franciscan rain tree.

More about yesterday-today-and-tomorrow

About Yesterday-Today-and-Tomorrow

Brunfelsia pauciflora · also called Yesterday-today-and-tomorrow, Morning-noon-and-night · flowering

Yesterday-today-and-tomorrow (Brunfelsia pauciflora) is an evergreen tropical shrub whose fragrant flowers fade from purple to lavender to white over three days. Give it bright, slightly filtered light, consistently moist acidic soil, warmth and high humidity. The ASPCA lists it as toxic to dogs, cats and horses, so keep it away from pets.

Cold limit: USDA 9-11 (grown outdoors year-round); elsewhere grown as a container/conservatory plant and overwintered indoors (15-27C)

Watch for — Bud and flower drop: Usually from the rootball drying out, sudden temperature swings, draughts or moving the plant while in bud. Keep moisture and temperature steady and avoid relocating it during flowering.

What yesterday-today-and-tomorrow's hardiness rating actually means

Yesterday-Today-and-Tomorrow is half-hardy (RHS H2). It survives a mild winter outdoors in a sheltered spot, but a hard frost kills it — so in colder zones it is lifted, potted, or grown as a tender plant. Its RHS rating of H2 means: Tender — survives a frost-free greenhouse or a very mild, sheltered spot. On the US scale that maps to USDA 9-11 (grown outdoors year-round); elsewhere grown as a container/conservatory plant and overwintered indoors — 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 1 to 5 °C — tolerates cold but no real frost. Yesterday-Today-and-Tomorrow shrugs off cold nights but a real, sustained freeze will kill it.

Concretely, for yesterday-today-and-tomorrow as it gets too cold:

Down to roughly about 1 to 5 °C it copes, especially if dry and sheltered.
A sustained hard frost collapses the top growth; whether it returns depends on whether the roots, crown or tubers froze.
Wet cold is far more lethal than dry cold for this plant — soggy, frozen soil is the usual killer.

Can yesterday-today-and-tomorrow go outside or overwinter — and where?

It can live outside year-round only in the mildest, most sheltered part of USDA 9-11 (grown outdoors year-round); elsewhere grown as a container/conservatory plant and overwintered indoors or a frost-free UK microclimate.
In colder zones, grow it in a pot you can move under cover, or lift its tubers/roots and store them frost-free over winter.
A south-facing wall, free-draining soil and a dry winter position can push it a full zone hardier than the books suggest.

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 yesterday-today-and-tomorrow can be outside. US growers can check USDA zones; UK growers should use the RHS hardiness ratings, which match the H2 figure above.

Frost protection for borderline yesterday-today-and-tomorrow

Yesterday-Today-and-Tomorrow is right on a hardiness edge in many gardens, so if you are pushing it, these measures buy it the margin it needs:

Mulch the crown or root zone deeply with bark, straw or leaf-mould before the first hard frost.
Move container plants against a warm wall or into an unheated but frost-free porch or greenhouse.
Fleece the top growth on the coldest nights, and keep it on the dry side — dry roots survive cold far better than wet ones.
Lift dahlia-type tubers or tender crowns after the first light frost blackens the foliage and store them somewhere cool but frost-free.

Yesterday-Today-and-Tomorrow hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is yesterday-today-and-tomorrow cold hardy?

Yesterday-Today-and-Tomorrow is half-hardy (RHS H2). It survives a mild winter outdoors in a sheltered spot, but a hard frost kills it — so in colder zones it is lifted, potted, or grown as a tender plant. Borderline outdoors. In its mild end of USDA 9-11 (grown outdoors year-round); elsewhere grown as a container/conservatory plant and overwintered indoors (and sheltered UK gardens) yesterday-today-and-tomorrow can stay out; in colder areas it must be lifted, brought in, or treated as a frost-tender plant.

What is the minimum temperature yesterday-today-and-tomorrow can survive?

Minimum survivable temperature is roughly about 1 to 5 °C — tolerates cold but no real frost. Yesterday-Today-and-Tomorrow shrugs off cold nights but a real, sustained freeze will kill it.

What hardiness zone is yesterday-today-and-tomorrow?

Yesterday-Today-and-Tomorrow is rated USDA 9-11 (grown outdoors year-round); elsewhere grown as a container/conservatory plant and overwintered indoors and RHS H2 — Tender — survives a frost-free greenhouse or a very mild, sheltered spot.

Can yesterday-today-and-tomorrow survive winter outside?

It can live outside year-round only in the mildest, most sheltered part of USDA 9-11 (grown outdoors year-round); elsewhere grown as a container/conservatory plant and overwintered indoors or a frost-free UK microclimate. In colder zones, grow it in a pot you can move under cover, or lift its tubers/roots and store them frost-free over winter. A south-facing wall, free-draining soil and a dry winter position can push it a full zone hardier than the books suggest.

How do I protect yesterday-today-and-tomorrow from frost?

Mulch the crown or root zone deeply with bark, straw or leaf-mould before the first hard frost. Move container plants against a warm wall or into an unheated but frost-free porch or greenhouse. Fleece the top growth on the coldest nights, and keep it on the dry side — dry roots survive cold far better than wet ones. Lift dahlia-type tubers or tender crowns after the first light frost blackens the foliage and store them somewhere cool but frost-free.