Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Eternal Flame Plant (Goeppertia crocata)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called Eternal Flame Plant, Eternal Flame Calathea, Saffron-coloured Calathea, Calathea crocata, Tassmania.

More about eternal flame plant

About Eternal Flame Plant

Goeppertia crocata · also called Eternal Flame Plant, Eternal Flame Calathea · flowering

The Eternal Flame Plant (Goeppertia crocata, formerly Calathea crocata) is a tropical Marantaceae houseplant prized for upright orange flame-like bracts that last two to three months. Grow it in bright indirect light with high humidity, evenly moist filtered water, and warmth. It is pet-safe: ASPCA lists the Calathea genus as non-toxic to cats and dogs.

Cold limit: USDA USDA zones 11-12 outdoors; grown as a houseplant elsewhere. Minimum safe temperature around 13-15 C (55-59 F); cold drafts and sudden chills damage it. (18-27 C)

What eternal flame plant's hardiness rating actually means

Eternal Flame 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 USDA zones 11-12 outdoors; grown as a houseplant elsewhere. Minimum safe temperature around 13-15 C (55-59 F); cold drafts and sudden chills damage it. — 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). Eternal Flame Plant has no frost tolerance at all — it is an indoor plant in any climate with a real winter.

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

Eternal Flame Plant hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is eternal flame plant cold hardy?

Eternal Flame 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. Eternal Flame Plant can only live outside year-round in genuinely frost-free climates (roughly USDA USDA zones 11-12 outdoors; grown as a houseplant elsewhere. Minimum safe temperature around 13-15 C (55-59 F); cold drafts and sudden chills damage it.); everywhere else it is a houseplant that summers out at most.

What is the minimum temperature eternal flame plant can survive?

What hardiness zone is eternal flame plant?

Eternal Flame Plant is rated USDA USDA zones 11-12 outdoors; grown as a houseplant elsewhere. Minimum safe temperature around 13-15 C (55-59 F); cold drafts and sudden chills damage it. and RHS H1b — Sub-tropical — a normal warm home is fine, but it cannot go outside in a cool season.

Can eternal flame 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 eternal flame 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.