Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Calathea Burle-Marxii (Goeppertia burle-marxii)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called ice blue calathea, Burle Marx's calathea.

More about calathea burle-marxii

About Calathea Burle-Marxii

Goeppertia burle-marxii · also called ice blue calathea, Burle Marx's calathea · houseplant

Goeppertia burle-marxii, the ice-blue calathea, carries broad, soft pale-green leaves brushed with feathery dark fishbone bands and dramatic burgundy-purple undersides. Named for Brazilian landscape designer Roberto Burle Marx, it folds upright at night to flash that violet backing. It needs warmth, high humidity and soft, consistently moist soil to look its best indoors.

Cold limit: USDA 11-12 (indoor in most US homes) · RHS H1b (18-27°C)

Watch for — Drooping or rolled leaves: Signals thirst or low humidity; persistent droop can mean cold or root rot from waterlogging. Check soil moisture and root health.

What calathea burle-marxii's hardiness rating actually means

Calathea Burle-Marxii 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 11-12 (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). Calathea Burle-Marxii has no frost tolerance at all — it is an indoor plant in any climate with a real winter.

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

Calathea Burle-Marxii hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is calathea burle-marxii cold hardy?

Calathea Burle-Marxii 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. Calathea Burle-Marxii can only live outside year-round in genuinely frost-free climates (roughly USDA 11-12 (indoor in most US homes)); everywhere else it is a houseplant that summers out at most.

What is the minimum temperature calathea burle-marxii can survive?

What hardiness zone is calathea burle-marxii?

Calathea Burle-Marxii is rated USDA 11-12 (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 calathea burle-marxii 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 calathea burle-marxii 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.