Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Trailing Lantana (Lantana montevidensis)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called Trailing Lantana, Weeping Lantana, Purple Trailing Lantana, Creeping Lantana.

More about trailing lantana

About Trailing Lantana

Lantana montevidensis · also called Trailing Lantana, Weeping Lantana · flowering

Native to South America, Trailing Lantana is a low, spreading, woody perennial or shrub prized for its lavender-purple flower clusters that bloom from spring through autumn. It thrives in full sun with well-drained soil and is highly drought-tolerant once established, making it an excellent choice for slopes, containers, and hanging baskets. The single most important care rule is to avoid overwatering, as root rot quickly occurs in poorly drained or constantly wet soil. Toxic to cats, dogs, and horses.

Cold limit: USDA 8-11 · RHS H1b (10–35°C)

What trailing lantana's hardiness rating actually means

Trailing Lantana 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 8-11 — 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 10 °C (sustained cold below this is damaging). Trailing Lantana has no frost tolerance at all — it is an indoor plant in any climate with a real winter.

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

Trailing Lantana hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is trailing lantana cold hardy?

Trailing Lantana 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. Trailing Lantana can only live outside year-round in genuinely frost-free climates (roughly USDA 8-11); everywhere else it is a houseplant that summers out at most.

What is the minimum temperature trailing lantana can survive?

What hardiness zone is trailing lantana?

Trailing Lantana is rated USDA 8-11 and RHS H1b — Sub-tropical — a normal warm home is fine, but it cannot go outside in a cool season.

Can trailing lantana 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 trailing lantana 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.