Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Calathea White Star (Goeppertia majestica 'White Star')cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called white star calathea, white star prayer plant.

More about calathea white star

About Calathea White Star

Goeppertia majestica 'White Star' · also called white star calathea, white star prayer plant · houseplant

Calathea 'White Star' is a showy prayer plant with large, elliptic leaves striped in fine white-to-pink pinstripes radiating from the midrib, over deep green and flushed pink, with purple undersides. Like its relatives it folds its leaves up at night. It demands warmth, high humidity, even moisture, and soft water, and rewards careful care with luminous, eye-catching foliage.

Cold limit: USDA 10-12 (indoor houseplant in most climates) · RHS H1b (18-27°C)

What calathea white star's hardiness rating actually means

Calathea White Star 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 10-12 (indoor houseplant in most climates) — 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 White Star has no frost tolerance at all — it is an indoor plant in any climate with a real winter.

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

Calathea White Star hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is calathea white star cold hardy?

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

What is the minimum temperature calathea white star can survive?

What hardiness zone is calathea white star?

Calathea White Star is rated USDA 10-12 (indoor houseplant in most climates) and RHS H1b — Sub-tropical — a normal warm home is fine, but it cannot go outside in a cool season.

Can calathea white star 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 white star 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.