Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Prayer plant (Maranta leuconeura)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called maranta, rabbit’s foot, herringbone plant.

About Prayer plant

Maranta leuconeura · also called maranta, rabbit’s foot · tropical

Prayer plant is a rainforest-floor maranta whose leaves fold upward at night as if in prayer. It is famously fussy about humidity, tap water, and direct light, but rewards consistent care with striking patterned foliage. Pet-safe by ASPCA standards.

Maranta leuconeura is native to central and eastern Brazil, growing in the humid, shaded undergrowth of tropical forest where low light and high moisture shaped its care needs.

A low, spreading evergreen perennial whose leaves fold upward at night (nyctinasty, driven by pulvini at the leaf base). Several varieties hold the RHS Award of Garden Merit, and ASPCA lists Maranta as non-toxic to cats and dogs.

Cold limit: USDA 11-12 (indoor-only) · RHS H1b (18-24°C)

Sources: powo.science.kew.org, en.wikipedia.org, aspca.org

What prayer plant's hardiness rating actually means

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

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

Prayer plant hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is prayer plant cold hardy?

Prayer 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. Prayer plant can only live outside year-round in genuinely frost-free climates (roughly USDA 11-12 (indoor-only)); everywhere else it is a houseplant that summers out at most.

What is the minimum temperature prayer plant can survive?

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

What hardiness zone is prayer plant?

Prayer plant is rated USDA 11-12 (indoor-only) and RHS H1b — Sub-tropical — a normal warm home is fine, but it cannot go outside in a cool season.

Can prayer 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 prayer 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.