Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Swiss cheese vine (Monstera adansonii)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called Adanson's monstera, five holes plant, Swiss cheese plant (vine type).

About Swiss cheese vine

Monstera adansonii · also called Adanson's monstera, five holes plant · tropical

Monstera adansonii is a smaller climbing aroid relative of M. deliciosa, with oval leaves perforated by oblong holes. Faster-growing and easier to keep compact than M. deliciosa. Mildly toxic to pets due to insoluble calcium oxalates.

Monstera adansonii, native to the rainforests of southern Mexico through Central and tropical South America, where it climbs tree trunks as an evergreen vine.

Differs from M. deliciosa: its leaf holes are fully enclosed within the blade rather than splitting to the margin, and it stays a more delicate trailing/climbing vine indoors. All parts contain insoluble calcium oxalate — toxic to cats and dogs.

Cold limit: USDA 10-12 (indoor in most US homes) · RHS H1b (18-27°C)

Sources: missouribotanicalgarden.org, aspca.org, plants.ces.ncsu.edu

What swiss cheese vine's hardiness rating actually means

Swiss cheese vine 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 10-12 (indoor in most US homes) — 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). Swiss cheese vine has no frost tolerance at all — it is an indoor plant in any climate with a real winter.

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

Swiss cheese vine hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is swiss cheese vine cold hardy?

Swiss cheese vine 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. Swiss cheese vine can only live outside year-round in genuinely frost-free climates (roughly USDA 10-12 (indoor in most US homes)); everywhere else it is a houseplant that summers out at most.

What is the minimum temperature swiss cheese vine can survive?

What hardiness zone is swiss cheese vine?

Swiss cheese vine is rated USDA 10-12 (indoor in most US homes) and RHS H1b — Sub-tropical — a normal warm home is fine, but it cannot go outside in a cool season.

Can swiss cheese vine 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 swiss cheese vine 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.