Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Caladium Florida Cardinal (Caladium 'Florida Cardinal')cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called Florida Cardinal caladium.

More about caladium florida cardinal

About Caladium Florida Cardinal

Caladium 'Florida Cardinal' · also called Florida Cardinal caladium · tropical

A fancy-leaved caladium grown for dramatic heart-shaped leaves with deep cardinal-red centres and contrasting green margins. This tuberous tropical thrives in warmth, humidity and bright filtered light, going dormant in cool months. As a Caladium and member of the Araceae, it is toxic to cats and dogs through insoluble calcium oxalates.

Cold limit: USDA 9-11 (lift and store tubers, or grow as a summer container plant, in cooler US and UK zones) · RHS H1b (21-30°C)

Watch for — Tuber rot: Results from cold or waterlogged soil, especially during dormancy. Use free-draining mix, avoid overwatering and store dormant tubers somewhere warm and dry.

What caladium florida cardinal's hardiness rating actually means

Caladium Florida Cardinal 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 9-11 (lift and store tubers, or grow as a summer container plant, in cooler US and UK zones) — 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). Caladium Florida Cardinal has no frost tolerance at all — it is an indoor plant in any climate with a real winter.

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

Caladium Florida Cardinal hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is caladium florida cardinal cold hardy?

Caladium Florida Cardinal 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. Caladium Florida Cardinal can only live outside year-round in genuinely frost-free climates (roughly USDA 9-11 (lift and store tubers, or grow as a summer container plant, in cooler US and UK zones)); everywhere else it is a houseplant that summers out at most.

What is the minimum temperature caladium florida cardinal can survive?

What hardiness zone is caladium florida cardinal?

Caladium Florida Cardinal is rated USDA 9-11 (lift and store tubers, or grow as a summer container plant, in cooler US and UK zones) and RHS H1b — Sub-tropical — a normal warm home is fine, but it cannot go outside in a cool season.

Can caladium florida cardinal 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 caladium florida cardinal 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.