Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Guava (Psidium guajava)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called Guava, Common guava, Yellow guava.

More about guava

About Guava

Psidium guajava · also called Guava, Common guava · tropical

Common guava is a fast-growing, hardy tropical tree from the American tropics, now grown worldwide for its fragrant, vitamin-C-rich fruit. It tolerates a wide range of soils, fruits within two to four years, and shrugs off heat and brief drought. In cool climates it grows well in large containers moved indoors over winter.

Cold limit: USDA 9b-11 (mature trees tolerate light frost; protect young plants) · RHS H1c (20-30°C)

What guava's hardiness rating actually means

Guava 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 9b-11 (mature trees tolerate light frost; protect young plants) — 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). Guava has no frost tolerance at all — it is an indoor plant in any climate with a real winter.

Concretely, for guava 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 guava 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 guava can be outside. US growers can check USDA zones; UK growers should use the RHS hardiness ratings, which match the H1c figure above.

Guava hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is guava cold hardy?

Guava 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. Guava can only live outside year-round in genuinely frost-free climates (roughly USDA 9b-11 (mature trees tolerate light frost; protect young plants)); everywhere else it is a houseplant that summers out at most.

What is the minimum temperature guava can survive?

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

What hardiness zone is guava?

Guava is rated USDA 9b-11 (mature trees tolerate light frost; protect young plants) and RHS H1c — Warm-temperate — can summer outdoors but must come in well before the first frost.

Can guava 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 guava 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.