Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Peacock Plant (Calathea makoyana)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called Peacock Plant, Cathedral Windows, Brain Plant, Goeppertia makoyana.

More about peacock plant

About Peacock Plant

Calathea makoyana · also called Peacock Plant, Cathedral Windows · houseplant

Calathea makoyana (syn. Goeppertia makoyana) is a Brazilian rainforest prayer plant famed for translucent leaves painted with dark ovals on pale green, with deep purple undersides visible as the leaves fold upward at night. High humidity above 60 percent and soft, room-temperature water are its non-negotiable requirements. Pet-safe per the ASPCA.

Cold limit: USDA 11-12 · RHS H1b (18-27°C)

Watch for — Brown, crispy leaf edges: Most often caused by low humidity, fluoride or chlorine in tap water, or cold draughts. Raise humidity to 60%+ and switch to rainwater, distilled, or filtered water at room temperature.

What peacock plant's hardiness rating actually means

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

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

Peacock Plant hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is peacock plant cold hardy?

Peacock 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. Peacock 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 peacock plant can survive?

What hardiness zone is peacock plant?

Peacock 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 peacock 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 peacock 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.