Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Olive Living Stone (Lithops olivacea)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called Olive Mimicry Plant, Green Living Stone.

More about olive living stone

About Olive Living Stone

Lithops olivacea · also called Olive Mimicry Plant, Green Living Stone · houseplant

Lithops olivacea is a South African stone-plant named for its distinctive olive-green lobes, which provide camouflage among greenish quartz pebbles in its Bushmanland habitat. Yellow flowers are produced in autumn to early winter. Non-toxic to pets. It is somewhat more forgiving of accidental overwatering than some species but still requires a strict dry summer rest.

Cold limit: USDA 10-11 (indoor-only in most climates) · RHS H1c (10-30°C)

Watch for — Leaf split problems: If the old lobes do not shrivel to release the new pair, the plant has received too much moisture in winter. Cease watering and allow natural desiccation.

What olive living stone's hardiness rating actually means

Olive Living Stone 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 10-11 (indoor-only 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 5 °C (and never frost). Olive Living Stone has no frost tolerance at all — it is an indoor plant in any climate with a real winter.

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

Olive Living Stone hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is olive living stone cold hardy?

Olive Living Stone 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. Olive Living Stone can only live outside year-round in genuinely frost-free climates (roughly USDA 10-11 (indoor-only in most climates)); everywhere else it is a houseplant that summers out at most.

What is the minimum temperature olive living stone can survive?

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

What hardiness zone is olive living stone?

Olive Living Stone is rated USDA 10-11 (indoor-only in most climates) and RHS H1c — Warm-temperate — can summer outdoors but must come in well before the first frost.

Can olive living stone 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 olive living stone 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.