Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Cup of gold vine (Solandra maxima)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called Cup of gold vine, Golden chalice vine, Chalice vine, Hawaiian lily.

More about cup of gold vine

About Cup of gold vine

Solandra maxima · also called Cup of gold vine, Golden chalice vine · tropical

Cup of gold vine is a spectacular, fast-growing evergreen climber from Mexico and Central America, bearing enormous — up to 25 cm — golden-yellow chalice-shaped flowers with a coconut fragrance and purple-striped interior. A subtropical showstopper for frost-free gardens, it quickly smothers pergolas and walls. All parts are toxic, containing tropane alkaloids. Requires heavy pruning to control vigour.

Cold limit: USDA 10–11 · RHS H1b (10–32°C)

What cup of gold vine's hardiness rating actually means

Cup of gold vine 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 10–11 — 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). Cup of gold vine has no frost tolerance at all — it is an indoor plant in any climate with a real winter.

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

Cup of gold vine hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is cup of gold vine cold hardy?

Cup of gold vine 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. Cup of gold vine can only live outside year-round in genuinely frost-free climates (roughly USDA 10–11); everywhere else it is a houseplant that summers out at most.

What is the minimum temperature cup of gold vine can survive?

What hardiness zone is cup of gold vine?

Cup of gold vine is rated USDA 10–11 and RHS H1b — Sub-tropical — a normal warm home is fine, but it cannot go outside in a cool season.

Can cup of gold vine 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 cup of gold vine 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.