Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Grasshopper Lycaste (Lycaste locusta)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called Grasshopper Lycaste.

More about grasshopper lycaste

About Grasshopper Lycaste

Lycaste locusta · also called Grasshopper Lycaste · tropical

Lycaste locusta is a small, fragrant Central American orchid whose vivid green flowers gave rise to the common name 'Grasshopper.' It grows sympodially with pleated deciduous leaves and demands a clear winter dry rest to flower reliably. Ideal for intermediate orchid collections with good humidity and airflow.

Cold limit: USDA 10-12 · RHS H1b (10–26°C)

Watch for — No flowers despite healthy pseudobulbs: Flowering is triggered by a cool, dry rest once leaves fall. If temperatures stay above 18°C year-round or water is not reduced in winter, the plant will not initiate spikes. Ensure a 6–8 week rest at 10–14°C.

What grasshopper lycaste's hardiness rating actually means

Grasshopper Lycaste 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 — 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). Grasshopper Lycaste has no frost tolerance at all — it is an indoor plant in any climate with a real winter.

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

Grasshopper Lycaste hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is grasshopper lycaste cold hardy?

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

What is the minimum temperature grasshopper lycaste can survive?

What hardiness zone is grasshopper lycaste?

Grasshopper Lycaste is rated USDA 10-12 and RHS H1b — Sub-tropical — a normal warm home is fine, but it cannot go outside in a cool season.

Can grasshopper lycaste 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 grasshopper lycaste 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.