Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Elephant Foot Yam (Amorphophallus paeoniifolius)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called elephant foot yam, whitespot giant arum, suran.

More about elephant foot yam

About Elephant Foot Yam

Amorphophallus paeoniifolius · also called elephant foot yam, whitespot giant arum · edible

Amorphophallus paeoniifolius, the elephant foot yam or suran, is a tropical aroid widely cultivated across South and Southeast Asia for its large edible corm. It throws a single tall, umbrella-like leaf on a mottled stalk and a striking ruffled inflorescence. The corm is a staple vegetable but must be well cooked to remove its acridity.

Cold limit: USDA 9-11 (lift and store the corm where frost occurs) · RHS H1c (25-35°C (growth); store dormant corm above 12°C)

What elephant foot yam's hardiness rating actually means

Elephant Foot Yam 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 H1c means: Warm-temperate — can summer outdoors but must come in well before the first frost. On the US scale that maps to USDA 9-11 (lift and store the corm where frost occurs) — 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 5 °C (and never frost). Elephant Foot Yam has no frost tolerance at all — it is an indoor plant in any climate with a real winter.

Concretely, for elephant foot yam as it gets too cold:

Below about about 5 °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 elephant foot yam go outside or overwinter — and where?

It can holiday outdoors in summer once nights are reliably above 5 °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 elephant foot yam can be outside. US growers can check USDA zones; UK growers should use the RHS hardiness ratings, which match the H1c figure above.

Elephant Foot Yam hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is elephant foot yam cold hardy?

Elephant Foot Yam 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. Elephant Foot Yam can only live outside year-round in genuinely frost-free climates (roughly USDA 9-11 (lift and store the corm where frost occurs)); everywhere else it is a houseplant that summers out at most.

What is the minimum temperature elephant foot yam can survive?

Minimum survivable temperature is roughly about 5 °C (and never frost). Elephant Foot Yam has no frost tolerance at all — it is an indoor plant in any climate with a real winter.

What hardiness zone is elephant foot yam?

Elephant Foot Yam is rated USDA 9-11 (lift and store the corm where frost occurs) and RHS H1c — Warm-temperate — can summer outdoors but must come in well before the first frost.

Can elephant foot yam survive winter outside?

It can holiday outdoors in summer once nights are reliably above 5 °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 elephant foot yam below its minimum temperature?

Below about about 5 °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.