Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Camu Camu (Myrciaria dubia)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called Camu Camu, Cacari, Camucamu.

More about camu camu

About Camu Camu

Myrciaria dubia · also called Camu Camu, Cacari · tropical

Camu Camu is a small Amazonian riverside shrub or tree producing cherry-sized, deep red to purple fruits with extraordinarily high vitamin C content — among the richest natural sources known. Native to flooded Amazonian rainforest, it tolerates periodic inundation and requires consistently moist to wet, acidic soil and high humidity to thrive in cultivation.

Cold limit: USDA 10b–12 · RHS H1a (22–35°C)

What camu camu's hardiness rating actually means

Camu Camu 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 H1a means: Tropical — needs a heated room or greenhouse; no frost tolerance whatsoever. On the US scale that maps to USDA 10b–12 — 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 above about 15 °C (warm, never cold). Camu Camu has no frost tolerance at all — it is an indoor plant in any climate with a real winter.

Concretely, for camu camu as it gets too cold:

Below about above about 15 °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 camu camu go outside or overwinter — and where?

It can holiday outdoors in summer once nights are reliably above above 15 °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 camu camu can be outside. US growers can check USDA zones; UK growers should use the RHS hardiness ratings, which match the H1a figure above.

Camu Camu hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is camu camu cold hardy?

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

What is the minimum temperature camu camu can survive?

Minimum survivable temperature is roughly above about 15 °C (warm, never cold). Camu Camu has no frost tolerance at all — it is an indoor plant in any climate with a real winter.

What hardiness zone is camu camu?

Camu Camu is rated USDA 10b–12 and RHS H1a — Tropical — needs a heated room or greenhouse; no frost tolerance whatsoever.

Can camu camu survive winter outside?

It can holiday outdoors in summer once nights are reliably above above 15 °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 camu camu below its minimum temperature?

Below about above about 15 °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.