Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Pinguicula 'Tina' (Pinguicula × 'Tina')cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called Tina butterwort.

More about pinguicula 'tina'

About Pinguicula 'Tina'

Pinguicula × 'Tina' · also called Tina butterwort · flowering

Pinguicula 'Tina' is a vigorous Mexican butterwort hybrid forming a flat rosette of greasy-looking, sticky leaves that trap fungus gnats. Easy and forgiving, it produces violet-blue flowers and switches between lush summer carnivorous leaves and a compact succulent winter rosette. It tolerates ordinary tap water better than most carnivores, making it a great beginner butterwort.

Cold limit: USDA 9-11 (frost-tender; grown indoors in most climates) · RHS H1c (10-28°C)

Watch for — Leaves rot or go translucent: Overwatering, especially during the winter succulent phase. Switch to a barely-moist, fast-draining regime in winter.

What pinguicula 'tina''s hardiness rating actually means

Pinguicula 'Tina' 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 (frost-tender; grown indoors in most climates) — 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). Pinguicula 'Tina' has no frost tolerance at all — it is an indoor plant in any climate with a real winter.

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

Pinguicula 'Tina' hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is pinguicula 'tina' cold hardy?

Pinguicula 'Tina' 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. Pinguicula 'Tina' can only live outside year-round in genuinely frost-free climates (roughly USDA 9-11 (frost-tender; grown indoors in most climates)); everywhere else it is a houseplant that summers out at most.

What is the minimum temperature pinguicula 'tina' can survive?

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

What hardiness zone is pinguicula 'tina'?

Pinguicula 'Tina' is rated USDA 9-11 (frost-tender; grown indoors in most climates) and RHS H1c — Warm-temperate — can summer outdoors but must come in well before the first frost.

Can pinguicula 'tina' 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 pinguicula 'tina' 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.