Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Red Prayer Plant (Maranta leuconeura var. erythroneura)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called Red Prayer Plant, Red-veined Prayer Plant, Herringbone Plant, Prayer Plant, Maranta.

More about red prayer plant

About Red Prayer Plant

Maranta leuconeura var. erythroneura · also called Red Prayer Plant, Red-veined Prayer Plant · houseplant

The Red Prayer Plant is a low-growing tropical houseplant prized for velvety dark-green leaves with vivid red veins that fold upward at night. It needs bright indirect light, consistently moist soil, and high humidity to thrive indoors. The ASPCA lists Maranta leuconeura as non-toxic, making it a genuinely pet-safe choice for homes with cats and dogs.

Cold limit: USDA 11-12 (18-27°C)

What red prayer plant's hardiness rating actually means

Red Prayer Plant 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 11-12 — 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). Red Prayer Plant has no frost tolerance at all — it is an indoor plant in any climate with a real winter.

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

Red Prayer Plant hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is red prayer plant cold hardy?

Red Prayer Plant 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. Red Prayer Plant can only live outside year-round in genuinely frost-free climates (roughly USDA 11-12); everywhere else it is a houseplant that summers out at most.

What is the minimum temperature red prayer plant can survive?

What hardiness zone is red prayer plant?

Red Prayer Plant is rated USDA 11-12 and RHS H1b — Sub-tropical — a normal warm home is fine, but it cannot go outside in a cool season.

Can red prayer plant 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 red prayer plant 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.