Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Spindle Palm (Hyophorbe verschaffeltii)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called Palmiste Marron.

More about spindle palm

About Spindle Palm

Hyophorbe verschaffeltii · also called Palmiste Marron · tropical

Spindle palm is an elegant, single-trunked feather palm from the Mascarene island of Rodrigues, where it is critically endangered in the wild. It is named for its trunk, which swells in the middle like a spindle before tapering to a slim crownshaft. With arching pinnate fronds, it is a refined, slow-growing palm for warm, frost-free, sunny gardens.

Cold limit: USDA 10b-11 (frost-tender; damaged below about 2-4°C) · RHS H1c (5 to 35°C)

Watch for — Cold injury: Frost burns fronds and can kill the bud below roughly 2-4°C; grow under cover or indoors in cool climates.

What spindle palm's hardiness rating actually means

Spindle Palm 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 10b-11 (frost-tender; damaged below about 2-4°C) — 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). Spindle Palm has no frost tolerance at all — it is an indoor plant in any climate with a real winter.

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

Spindle Palm hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is spindle palm cold hardy?

Spindle Palm 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. Spindle Palm can only live outside year-round in genuinely frost-free climates (roughly USDA 10b-11 (frost-tender; damaged below about 2-4°C)); everywhere else it is a houseplant that summers out at most.

What is the minimum temperature spindle palm can survive?

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

What hardiness zone is spindle palm?

Spindle Palm is rated USDA 10b-11 (frost-tender; damaged below about 2-4°C) and RHS H1c — Warm-temperate — can summer outdoors but must come in well before the first frost.

Can spindle palm 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 spindle palm 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.