Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Crape Jasmine (Tabernaemontana coronaria)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called Crape Jasmine, Carnation of India, Adam's Apple, Wax Flower.

More about crape jasmine

About Crape Jasmine

Tabernaemontana coronaria · also called Crape Jasmine, Carnation of India · tropical

A lush, fragrant evergreen shrub from South Asia closely allied to T. divaricata, bearing waxy white flowers with gently crimped petals resembling crepe paper. Blooms near-continuously in warm climates. Well suited to tropical gardens, conservatories, and large containers. Fragrance intensifies after dark.

Cold limit: USDA 9-11 · RHS H1b (15–32°C)

Watch for — Leaf drop or yellowing: Sudden temperature drops below 10°C or cold draughts cause rapid leaf yellowing and drop. Maintain temperatures above 15°C indoors and avoid cold windowsill draughts in winter.

What crape jasmine's hardiness rating actually means

Crape Jasmine 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 9-11 — 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). Crape Jasmine has no frost tolerance at all — it is an indoor plant in any climate with a real winter.

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

Crape Jasmine hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is crape jasmine cold hardy?

Crape Jasmine 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. Crape Jasmine can only live outside year-round in genuinely frost-free climates (roughly USDA 9-11); everywhere else it is a houseplant that summers out at most.

What is the minimum temperature crape jasmine can survive?

What hardiness zone is crape jasmine?

Crape Jasmine is rated USDA 9-11 and RHS H1b — Sub-tropical — a normal warm home is fine, but it cannot go outside in a cool season.

Can crape jasmine 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 crape jasmine 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.