Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Catasetum fimbriatum (Catasetum fimbriatum)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called Fringed Catasetum.

More about catasetum fimbriatum

About Catasetum fimbriatum

Catasetum fimbriatum · also called Fringed Catasetum · tropical

Catasetum fimbriatum is a South American epiphyte named for the fringed lip of its fragrant, greenish flowers. Like all Catasetums it is strictly deciduous, growing fast and wet in summer then resting leafless and dry in winter. It needs bright light, heavy growing-season water and feed, and an emphatic dry dormancy to flower reliably.

Cold limit: USDA 10-12 (greenhouse or indoor in most US homes) · RHS H1b (18-30°C)

What catasetum fimbriatum's hardiness rating actually means

Catasetum fimbriatum 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 (greenhouse or 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). Catasetum fimbriatum has no frost tolerance at all — it is an indoor plant in any climate with a real winter.

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

Catasetum fimbriatum hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is catasetum fimbriatum cold hardy?

Catasetum fimbriatum 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. Catasetum fimbriatum can only live outside year-round in genuinely frost-free climates (roughly USDA 10-12 (greenhouse or indoor in most US homes)); everywhere else it is a houseplant that summers out at most.

What is the minimum temperature catasetum fimbriatum can survive?

What hardiness zone is catasetum fimbriatum?

Catasetum fimbriatum is rated USDA 10-12 (greenhouse or 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 catasetum fimbriatum 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 catasetum fimbriatum 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.