Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Resurrection Lily (Kaempferia galanga)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called Resurrection Lily, Sand Ginger, Aromatic Ginger, Kencur.

More about resurrection lily

About Resurrection Lily

Kaempferia galanga · also called Resurrection Lily, Sand Ginger · tropical

Kaempferia galanga is a low-growing tropical rhizomatous ginger grown for its fragrant, patterned foliage and small white-pink blooms that appear in summer. It thrives in warm, humid shade, goes dormant in winter, and suits containers in temperate climates. Keep moist during growth and dry during dormancy.

Cold limit: USDA 9-11 · RHS H1b (18–30 °C)

Watch for — Failure to re-sprout: Rhizomes kept too cold or wet over winter may rot or fail to break dormancy. Store dormant rhizomes barely dry at 15–18 °C and restart watering in late spring when temperatures warm.

What resurrection lily's hardiness rating actually means

Resurrection Lily 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 9-11 — 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). Resurrection Lily has no frost tolerance at all — it is an indoor plant in any climate with a real winter.

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

Resurrection Lily hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is resurrection lily cold hardy?

Resurrection Lily 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. Resurrection Lily can only live outside year-round in genuinely frost-free climates (roughly USDA 9-11); everywhere else it is a houseplant that summers out at most.

What is the minimum temperature resurrection lily can survive?

What hardiness zone is resurrection lily?

Resurrection Lily is rated USDA 9-11 and RHS H1b — Sub-tropical — a normal warm home is fine, but it cannot go outside in a cool season.

Can resurrection lily 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 resurrection lily 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.