Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Ming aralia (Polyscias fruticosa)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called parsley aralia, shrubby polyscias.

About Ming aralia

Polyscias fruticosa · also called parsley aralia, shrubby polyscias · houseplant

Ming aralia is a slow-growing tropical shrub from southeast Asia with finely divided ferny foliage. It develops an attractive bonsai-like trunk over time and tolerates pruning well. Mildly toxic to pets due to saponins. Sensitive to draughts and overwatering — drops leaves dramatically when stressed.

An Araliaceae shrub from Central Malesia to the Southwest Pacific, evolved beneath dappled forest canopy; its finely divided, fern-like compound leaves are a shade-understory adaptation, not a true frond.

Slow, upright and shrubby; rarely flowers or fruits indoors. Toxic to cats and dogs (saponins including polysciosides plus falcarinol), causing oral burning, drooling and irritation, so keep it away from pets.

Cold limit: USDA 10-12 (indoor in most US homes) · RHS H1b (18-27°C)

Watch for — Sudden leaf drop: Draughts, watering changes, or moves; ming aralias hate change.

Sources: plants.ces.ncsu.edu, aspca.org

What ming aralia's hardiness rating actually means

Ming aralia 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 US homes) — 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). Ming aralia has no frost tolerance at all — it is an indoor plant in any climate with a real winter.

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

Ming aralia hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is ming aralia cold hardy?

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

What is the minimum temperature ming aralia can survive?

Minimum survivable temperature is roughly about 10 °C (sustained cold below this is damaging). Ming aralia has no frost tolerance at all — it is an indoor plant in any climate with a real winter.

What hardiness zone is ming aralia?

Ming aralia is rated USDA 10-12 (indoor in most US homes) and RHS H1b — Sub-tropical — a normal warm home is fine, but it cannot go outside in a cool season.

Can ming aralia 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 ming aralia 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.