Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Calathea Medallion (Goeppertia roseopicta 'Medallion')cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called Calathea Medallion, Rose-Painted Calathea, Medallion Prayer Plant, Calathea roseopicta 'Medallion'.

More about calathea medallion

About Calathea Medallion

Goeppertia roseopicta 'Medallion' · also called Calathea Medallion, Rose-Painted Calathea · houseplant

The Calathea Medallion is a striking prayer plant prized for round leaves with feathery green patterning and deep purple undersides that fold up at night. It needs bright indirect light, consistently moist soil, filtered water, and high humidity to avoid crispy edges. It is ASPCA non-toxic and safe around cats and dogs.

Cold limit: USDA 10-12 (grown as a houseplant elsewhere) (18-24°C)

Watch for — Yellowing leaves: Most often overwatering and soggy soil. Let the top of the soil dry between waterings, ensure drainage, and reduce frequency in winter.

What calathea medallion's hardiness rating actually means

Calathea Medallion 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 H1c means: Warm-temperate — can summer outdoors but must come in well before the first frost. On the US scale that maps to USDA 10-12 (grown as a houseplant elsewhere) — 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 5 °C (and never frost). Calathea Medallion has no frost tolerance at all — it is an indoor plant in any climate with a real winter.

Concretely, for calathea medallion as it gets too cold:

Below about about 5 °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 medallion go outside or overwinter — and where?

It can holiday outdoors in summer once nights are reliably above 5 °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 medallion can be outside. US growers can check USDA zones; UK growers should use the RHS hardiness ratings, which match the H1c figure above.

Calathea Medallion hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is calathea medallion cold hardy?

Calathea Medallion 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 Medallion can only live outside year-round in genuinely frost-free climates (roughly USDA 10-12 (grown as a houseplant elsewhere)); everywhere else it is a houseplant that summers out at most.

What is the minimum temperature calathea medallion can survive?

Minimum survivable temperature is roughly about 5 °C (and never frost). Calathea Medallion has no frost tolerance at all — it is an indoor plant in any climate with a real winter.

What hardiness zone is calathea medallion?

Calathea Medallion is rated USDA 10-12 (grown as a houseplant elsewhere) and RHS H1c — Warm-temperate — can summer outdoors but must come in well before the first frost.

Can calathea medallion survive winter outside?

It can holiday outdoors in summer once nights are reliably above 5 °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 medallion below its minimum temperature?

Below about about 5 °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.