Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Teysmann's Medinilla (Medinilla teysmannii)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called Teysmann's Medinilla.

More about teysmann's medinilla

About Teysmann's Medinilla

Medinilla teysmannii · also called Teysmann's Medinilla · tropical

Teysmann's Medinilla is a stunning epiphytic or lithophytic shrub from the Philippines, Sulawesi, and the Moluccas, found in mossy montane forests at 700–1,800 m. It produces ornamental pendulous flower clusters and glossy foliage. Like other Medinilla, it needs bright filtered light, high humidity, and excellent drainage to thrive.

Cold limit: USDA 11–12 · RHS H1b (17–25°C)

Watch for — Failure to flower: Requires a cool, dry rest period of 6–8 weeks in autumn/winter (temperature around 15–17°C) to trigger bud set. Keeping plants too warm and wet year-round prevents blooming.

What teysmann's medinilla's hardiness rating actually means

Teysmann's Medinilla 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 11–12 — 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). Teysmann's Medinilla has no frost tolerance at all — it is an indoor plant in any climate with a real winter.

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

Teysmann's Medinilla hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is teysmann's medinilla cold hardy?

Teysmann's Medinilla 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. Teysmann's Medinilla can only live outside year-round in genuinely frost-free climates (roughly USDA 11–12); everywhere else it is a houseplant that summers out at most.

What is the minimum temperature teysmann's medinilla can survive?

What hardiness zone is teysmann's medinilla?

Teysmann's Medinilla is rated USDA 11–12 and RHS H1b — Sub-tropical — a normal warm home is fine, but it cannot go outside in a cool season.

Can teysmann's medinilla 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 teysmann's medinilla 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.