Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Panda Plant (Kalanchoe tomentosa)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called Panda plant, Pussy ears, Chocolate soldier, Plush plant, Teddy bear cactus, Velvet leaf kalanchoe, Cocoon plant.

More about panda plant

About Panda Plant

Kalanchoe tomentosa · also called Panda plant, Pussy ears · houseplant

The panda plant is a slow-growing Madagascan succulent prized for thick, fuzzy silver-green leaves edged in rusty brown. Its one defining need is sharp drainage and restraint with the watering can: it stores water in those felted leaves and rots fast in soggy compost. Give it the brightest spot you have indoors.

Cold limit: USDA 9a-11b (outdoors only in frost-free climates; grown as a houseplant in the UK) · RHS H1b (min 10-15°C; grow under glass or indoors in the UK, can go outside in summer) (18-27°C)

What panda plant's hardiness rating actually means

Panda 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 9a-11b (outdoors only in frost-free climates; grown as a houseplant in the UK) — 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). Panda Plant has no frost tolerance at all — it is an indoor plant in any climate with a real winter.

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

Panda Plant hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is panda plant cold hardy?

Panda 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. Panda Plant can only live outside year-round in genuinely frost-free climates (roughly USDA 9a-11b (outdoors only in frost-free climates; grown as a houseplant in the UK)); everywhere else it is a houseplant that summers out at most.

What is the minimum temperature panda plant can survive?

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

What hardiness zone is panda plant?

Panda Plant is rated USDA 9a-11b (outdoors only in frost-free climates; grown as a houseplant in the UK) and RHS H1b — Sub-tropical — a normal warm home is fine, but it cannot go outside in a cool season.

Can panda 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 panda 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.