Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Golden pothos (Epipremnum aureum 'Golden')cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called devil's ivy golden, classic pothos.

About Golden pothos

Epipremnum aureum 'Golden' · also called devil's ivy golden, classic pothos · tropical

Golden pothos is the classic green-and-yellow variegated cultivar of devil's ivy. Vigorous, low-maintenance, and tolerant of low light, it remains one of the most popular trailing houseplants. Mildly toxic to pets due to insoluble calcium oxalates.

Epipremnum aureum (Araceae), an evergreen aroid vine that climbs by aerial roots; the familiar small, entire, heart-shaped houseplant leaves are the juvenile phase, with large pinnatifid (split) mature leaves appearing only on tall wild climbers.

Famously almost never flowers in cultivation because only the juvenile phase is grown and the species carries a genetic impairment of a gibberellin biosynthesis gene. Toxic to cats and dogs via insoluble calcium oxalates, causing oral burning, drooling and vomiting.

Cold limit: USDA 10-12 (indoor in most US homes) · RHS H1b (18-27°C)

Sources: aspca.org, en.wikipedia.org, hort.extension.wisc.edu

What golden pothos's hardiness rating actually means

Golden pothos 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 10-12 (indoor in most US homes) — 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). Golden pothos has no frost tolerance at all — it is an indoor plant in any climate with a real winter.

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

Golden pothos hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is golden pothos cold hardy?

Golden pothos 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. Golden pothos can only live outside year-round in genuinely frost-free climates (roughly USDA 10-12 (indoor in most US homes)); everywhere else it is a houseplant that summers out at most.

What is the minimum temperature golden pothos can survive?

What hardiness zone is golden pothos?

Golden pothos is rated USDA 10-12 (indoor in most US homes) and RHS H1b — Sub-tropical — a normal warm home is fine, but it cannot go outside in a cool season.

Can golden pothos 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 golden pothos 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.