Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Parlour Palm (Chamaedorea elegans)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called Parlour Palm, Parlor Palm, Neanthe Bella Palm, Good Luck Palm.

More about parlour palm

About Parlour Palm

Chamaedorea elegans · also called Parlour Palm, Parlor Palm · houseplant

An elegant, clump-forming palm native to the rainforest understorey of southern Mexico and Guatemala, and one of the most popular houseplants in the world for its tolerance of low light and low humidity. It produces slender, arching fronds of paired leaflets on bamboo-like green canes and can flower even as a container plant. The single most important care fact is to avoid overwatering — it is highly susceptible to root rot in soggy compost. The Parlour Palm is listed as non-toxic to cats and dogs by the ASPCA.

Cold limit: USDA 10-12 (indoor in most climates) · RHS H1b (16 to 29°C)

What parlour palm's hardiness rating actually means

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

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

Parlour Palm hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is parlour palm cold hardy?

Parlour Palm 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. Parlour Palm 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 parlour palm can survive?

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

What hardiness zone is parlour palm?

Parlour Palm 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 parlour palm 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 parlour palm 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.