Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Chinese money plant (Pilea peperomioides)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called pilea, UFO plant, pancake plant, missionary plant.

About Chinese money plant

Pilea peperomioides · also called pilea, UFO plant · houseplant

Chinese money plant is a tidy upright perennial from Yunnan, China, with round coin-shaped leaves on slender stalks. It is famous for sharing — the parent plant produces baby pups around the base for easy propagation. Pet-safe by ASPCA standards.

The Chinese money plant, Pilea peperomioides (nettle family, Urticaceae), is native to Yunnan and Sichuan in southern China, where it grows on shady, damp rock faces in forest at roughly 1,500-3,000 m elevation.

An erect evergreen perennial reaching about 30 cm; propagation is technically by stem (not leaf) cuttings that must include stem tissue, and the ASPCA lists Pilea as non-toxic to cats and dogs.

Cold limit: USDA 10-11 (indoor-only) · RHS H1c (13-24°C)

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

What chinese money plant's hardiness rating actually means

Chinese money 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 H1c means: Warm-temperate — can summer outdoors but must come in well before the first frost. On the US scale that maps to USDA 10-11 (indoor-only) — 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 5 °C (and never frost). Chinese money plant has no frost tolerance at all — it is an indoor plant in any climate with a real winter.

Concretely, for chinese money plant as it gets too cold:

Below about about 5 °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 chinese money plant go outside or overwinter — and where?

It can holiday outdoors in summer once nights are reliably above 5 °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 chinese money plant can be outside. US growers can check USDA zones; UK growers should use the RHS hardiness ratings, which match the H1c figure above.

Chinese money plant hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is chinese money plant cold hardy?

Chinese money 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. Chinese money plant can only live outside year-round in genuinely frost-free climates (roughly USDA 10-11 (indoor-only)); everywhere else it is a houseplant that summers out at most.

What is the minimum temperature chinese money plant can survive?

Minimum survivable temperature is roughly about 5 °C (and never frost). Chinese money plant has no frost tolerance at all — it is an indoor plant in any climate with a real winter.

What hardiness zone is chinese money plant?

Chinese money plant is rated USDA 10-11 (indoor-only) and RHS H1c — Warm-temperate — can summer outdoors but must come in well before the first frost.

Can chinese money plant survive winter outside?

It can holiday outdoors in summer once nights are reliably above 5 °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 chinese money plant below its minimum temperature?

Below about about 5 °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.