Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Dischor Wax Plant (Hoya dischorensis)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called Dischor wax plant, Wax plant, Porcelain flower.

More about dischor wax plant

About Dischor Wax Plant

Hoya dischorensis · also called Dischor wax plant, Wax plant · tropical

Hoya dischorensis is a climbing epiphytic vine native to the rainforests of New Guinea, notable for its dense umbels of up to 35 golden-yellow, star-shaped flowers with reflexed petals and a matching darker corona. Young bronze-coloured leaves mature to dark, glossy green. Like other Hoyas it demands fast-draining soil and watering only when the mix has partially dried; it is resilient and can recover from short dry periods but will quickly decline in wet soil. The ASPCA lists the Hoya genus as non-toxic to cats and dogs.

Cold limit: USDA 11–12 (indoor in most climates) · RHS H1b (18–28°C)

What dischor wax plant's hardiness rating actually means

Dischor Wax 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 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 11–12 (indoor in most climates) — 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). Dischor Wax Plant has no frost tolerance at all — it is an indoor plant in any climate with a real winter.

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

Dischor Wax Plant hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is dischor wax plant cold hardy?

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

What is the minimum temperature dischor wax plant can survive?

What hardiness zone is dischor wax plant?

Dischor Wax Plant is rated USDA 11–12 (indoor in most climates) and RHS H1b — Sub-tropical — a normal warm home is fine, but it cannot go outside in a cool season.

Can dischor wax plant 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 dischor wax plant 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.