Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Lined Sinningia (Sinningia lineata)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called Lined Sinningia, Streaked Sinningia.

More about lined sinningia

About Lined Sinningia

Sinningia lineata · also called Lined Sinningia, Streaked Sinningia · flowering

Sinningia lineata is a bold tuberous gesneriad from Brazil with a striking caudiciform base — a large, exposed above-ground tuber that can become very impressive with age. The plant produces just a few pairs of large, near-circular leaves and bears red tubular flowers, often rewarding growers with a second flush if stems are cut back after the first bloom. It is widely grown by gesneriad enthusiasts and caudiciform collectors alike. The ASPCA lists the Sinningia genus as non-toxic to cats and dogs; this species is not individually verified.

Cold limit: USDA 10–12 (indoor in most climates) · RHS H1b (16–26 °C in growth; 10–15 °C during dormancy)

What lined sinningia's hardiness rating actually means

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

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

Lined Sinningia hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is lined sinningia cold hardy?

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

What is the minimum temperature lined sinningia can survive?

What hardiness zone is lined sinningia?

Lined Sinningia is rated USDA 10–12 (indoor in most climates) and RHS H1b — Sub-tropical — a normal warm home is fine, but it cannot go outside in a cool season.

Can lined sinningia 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 lined sinningia 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.