Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Smelly Dorstenia (Dorstenia foetida)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called Smelly Dorstenia, Shield Flower, Grendelion.

More about smelly dorstenia

About Smelly Dorstenia

Dorstenia foetida · also called Smelly Dorstenia, Shield Flower · houseplant

Dorstenia foetida is a compact caudiciform succulent native to the Arabian Peninsula and East Africa, with a thickened mahogany-to-dark-green stem reaching 40 cm, scarred with distinctive leaf and inflorescence marks. Its flat, star-shaped flower heads emit a faint unpleasant odour to attract flies. Grow in a warm, bright spot with moderate watering in summer and reduced water in winter.

Cold limit: USDA 10b–12 · RHS H1b (18–30°C; min 10°C)

What smelly dorstenia's hardiness rating actually means

Smelly Dorstenia 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 10b–12 — 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). Smelly Dorstenia has no frost tolerance at all — it is an indoor plant in any climate with a real winter.

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

Smelly Dorstenia hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is smelly dorstenia cold hardy?

Smelly Dorstenia 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. Smelly Dorstenia can only live outside year-round in genuinely frost-free climates (roughly USDA 10b–12); everywhere else it is a houseplant that summers out at most.

What is the minimum temperature smelly dorstenia can survive?

What hardiness zone is smelly dorstenia?

Smelly Dorstenia is rated USDA 10b–12 and RHS H1b — Sub-tropical — a normal warm home is fine, but it cannot go outside in a cool season.

Can smelly dorstenia 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 smelly dorstenia 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.