Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Snake Plant (Sansevieria trifasciata)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called Mother-in-Law's Tongue, Saint George's Sword, Viper's Bowstring Hemp.

More about snake plant

About Snake Plant

Sansevieria trifasciata · also called Mother-in-Law's Tongue, Saint George's Sword · houseplant

The Snake Plant is one of the world's most popular and resilient houseplants, featuring stiff, upright, sword-shaped leaves banded in silver and dark green. It tolerates neglect, low light, and infrequent watering better than almost any other indoor plant. Toxic to cats and dogs due to saponins; keep out of reach of pets.

Cold limit: USDA 9-11 · RHS H1c (15-30°C)

What snake plant's hardiness rating actually means

Snake 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 H1c means: Warm-temperate — can summer outdoors but must come in well before the first frost. 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 5 °C (and never frost). Snake Plant has no frost tolerance at all — it is an indoor plant in any climate with a real winter.

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

Snake Plant hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is snake plant cold hardy?

Snake 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. Snake Plant 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 snake plant can survive?

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

What hardiness zone is snake plant?

Snake Plant is rated USDA 9-11 and RHS H1c — Warm-temperate — can summer outdoors but must come in well before the first frost.

Can snake plant 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 snake plant 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.