Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Remusatia vivipara (Remusatia vivipara)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called viviparous elephant ear, sky taro.

More about remusatia vivipara

About Remusatia vivipara

Remusatia vivipara · also called viviparous elephant ear, sky taro · tropical

Remusatia vivipara is a tuberous tropical aroid famous for the hooked bulbils it produces on whip-like stalks, which catch onto passing animals to disperse. It grows as an epiphyte or lithophyte across Asia and Africa, pushing out heart-shaped leaves in the wet season then dying back to a dormant tuber in the dry season.

Cold limit: USDA 9b-11 (lift or keep frost-free; dormant tubers tolerate cool, dry storage) · RHS H1c (18-30°C)

Watch for — Tuber rot: The commonest killer; caused by overwatering or leaving the dormant tuber in cold, wet soil. Use gritty mix and keep nearly dry during dormancy.

What remusatia vivipara's hardiness rating actually means

Remusatia vivipara 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 9b-11 (lift or keep frost-free; dormant tubers tolerate cool, dry storage) — 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). Remusatia vivipara has no frost tolerance at all — it is an indoor plant in any climate with a real winter.

Concretely, for remusatia vivipara 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 remusatia vivipara 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 remusatia vivipara can be outside. US growers can check USDA zones; UK growers should use the RHS hardiness ratings, which match the H1c figure above.

Remusatia vivipara hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is remusatia vivipara cold hardy?

Remusatia vivipara 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. Remusatia vivipara can only live outside year-round in genuinely frost-free climates (roughly USDA 9b-11 (lift or keep frost-free; dormant tubers tolerate cool, dry storage)); everywhere else it is a houseplant that summers out at most.

What is the minimum temperature remusatia vivipara can survive?

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

What hardiness zone is remusatia vivipara?

Remusatia vivipara is rated USDA 9b-11 (lift or keep frost-free; dormant tubers tolerate cool, dry storage) and RHS H1c — Warm-temperate — can summer outdoors but must come in well before the first frost.

Can remusatia vivipara 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 remusatia vivipara 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.