Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Copper Leaf Plant (Chrysothemis pulchella)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called Copper Leaf Plant, Copper Plant, Naupaka.

More about copper leaf plant

About Copper Leaf Plant

Chrysothemis pulchella · also called Copper Leaf Plant, Copper Plant · houseplant

Chrysothemis pulchella is a compact gesneriad from tropical America prized for its velvety, copper-flushed leaves and bright orange-yellow tubular flowers. It thrives in warm, humid indoor conditions with bright indirect light, making it an eye-catching windowsill specimen. It dies back to a tuber in winter, resuming growth in spring.

Cold limit: USDA 11–12 · RHS H1a (18–28°C)

Watch for — Failure to resprout after dormancy: The tuber needs a dry winter rest of 8–12 weeks at around 18°C. If kept too wet or too cold during dormancy, it may rot or fail to break dormancy in spring.

What copper leaf plant's hardiness rating actually means

Copper Leaf 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 H1a means: Tropical — needs a heated room or greenhouse; no frost tolerance whatsoever. On the US scale that maps to USDA 11–12 — 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). Copper Leaf Plant has no frost tolerance at all — it is an indoor plant in any climate with a real winter.

Concretely, for copper leaf plant 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 copper leaf plant 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 copper leaf plant can be outside. US growers can check USDA zones; UK growers should use the RHS hardiness ratings, which match the H1a figure above.

Copper Leaf Plant hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is copper leaf plant cold hardy?

Copper Leaf 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. Copper Leaf Plant can only live outside year-round in genuinely frost-free climates (roughly USDA 11–12); everywhere else it is a houseplant that summers out at most.

What is the minimum temperature copper leaf plant can survive?

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

What hardiness zone is copper leaf plant?

Copper Leaf Plant is rated USDA 11–12 and RHS H1a — Tropical — needs a heated room or greenhouse; no frost tolerance whatsoever.

Can copper leaf plant 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 copper leaf plant 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.