Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Gumbo Limbo (Bursera simaruba)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called Gumbo Limbo, Tourist Tree, Copperwood, Naked Indian Tree.

More about gumbo limbo

About Gumbo Limbo

Bursera simaruba · also called Gumbo Limbo, Tourist Tree · tropical

A fast-growing, medium to large semi-evergreen tree native to southern Florida, the Caribbean, and tropical Mexico, celebrated for its distinctive reddish-brown, peeling coppery bark. Exceptionally tough — tolerates drought, wind, salt spray, and poor soils once established. A landscape workhorse in tropical and subtropical gardens, and an important wildlife tree.

Cold limit: USDA 10b–11 · RHS H1c (4–40°C)

Watch for — Cold / frost damage: Leaf drop and branch tip dieback occur when temperatures fall below 4°C (40°F). Extended cold can kill young trees. In marginal zones, protect with frost cloth or grow in a container that can be moved indoors during cold snaps.

What gumbo limbo's hardiness rating actually means

Gumbo Limbo 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 10b–11 — 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). Gumbo Limbo has no frost tolerance at all — it is an indoor plant in any climate with a real winter.

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

Gumbo Limbo hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is gumbo limbo cold hardy?

Gumbo Limbo 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. Gumbo Limbo can only live outside year-round in genuinely frost-free climates (roughly USDA 10b–11); everywhere else it is a houseplant that summers out at most.

What is the minimum temperature gumbo limbo can survive?

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

What hardiness zone is gumbo limbo?

Gumbo Limbo is rated USDA 10b–11 and RHS H1c — Warm-temperate — can summer outdoors but must come in well before the first frost.

Can gumbo limbo 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 gumbo limbo 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.