Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Pothos (Epipremnum aureum)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called devil’s ivy, golden pothos, money plant.

About Pothos

Epipremnum aureum · also called devil’s ivy, golden pothos · tropical

Pothos is a trailing aroid from the Solomon Islands and the most forgiving vine in the houseplant world. It tolerates low light, irregular watering, and a wide humidity range, making it the standard recommendation for first-time plant keepers. Toxic if chewed.

Pothos (Epipremnum aureum) originates in the tropical Pacific (the Society and Solomon Islands region), where it grows as a climbing vine that clings to rough bark with aerial rootlets and trails across the forest floor as ground cover.

A fast, vigorous trailer that can reach 12 m or more of vine length in the wild; tender and frost-sensitive, kept as a houseplant in cool climates. It is toxic to cats and dogs (insoluble calcium oxalate) per ASPCA, causing oral swelling and GI irritation.

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

Sources: libguides.nybg.org, aspca.org, en.wikipedia.org

What pothos's hardiness rating actually means

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

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

Pothos hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is pothos cold hardy?

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

What is the minimum temperature pothos can survive?

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

What hardiness zone is pothos?

Pothos is rated USDA 10-12 (indoor-only 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 pothos 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 pothos 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.