Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Bear Paw (Cotyledon tomentosa)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called Bear Paw, Bear's Paw, Bear Paw Succulent, Bear's Paw Succulent.

More about bear paw

About Bear Paw

Cotyledon tomentosa · also called Bear Paw, Bear's Paw · houseplant

Bear Paw (Cotyledon tomentosa) is a small South African succulent with plump, fuzzy green leaves tipped by tooth-like red "claws." Give it bright light, gritty fast-draining soil, and soak-and-dry watering. It is not ASPCA-listed but the Cotyledon genus contains cardiac-glycoside toxins, so treat as toxic to pets.

Cold limit: USDA 9b-11b (not frost-hardy; grow indoors or under cover where temperatures drop below about -1C / 30F) (15-27C)

Watch for — Root rot from overwatering: The most common killer. Soggy soil turns leaves and stems soft, mushy and translucent. Use gritty mix, a pot with drainage, and let soil dry fully between waterings — especially in winter.

What bear paw's hardiness rating actually means

Bear Paw 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 9b-11b (not frost-hardy; grow indoors or under cover where temperatures drop below about -1C / 30F) — 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). Bear Paw has no frost tolerance at all — it is an indoor plant in any climate with a real winter.

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

Bear Paw hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is bear paw cold hardy?

Bear Paw 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. Bear Paw can only live outside year-round in genuinely frost-free climates (roughly USDA 9b-11b (not frost-hardy; grow indoors or under cover where temperatures drop below about -1C / 30F)); everywhere else it is a houseplant that summers out at most.

What is the minimum temperature bear paw can survive?

Minimum survivable temperature is roughly about 10 °C (sustained cold below this is damaging). Bear Paw has no frost tolerance at all — it is an indoor plant in any climate with a real winter.

What hardiness zone is bear paw?

Bear Paw is rated USDA 9b-11b (not frost-hardy; grow indoors or under cover where temperatures drop below about -1C / 30F) and RHS H1b — Sub-tropical — a normal warm home is fine, but it cannot go outside in a cool season.

Can bear paw 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 bear paw 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.