Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Tweedie's Lipstick Plant (Aeschynanthus tweediei)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called Tweedie's Lipstick Plant, Tweedie's Basket Vine.

More about tweedie's lipstick plant

About Tweedie's Lipstick Plant

Aeschynanthus tweediei · also called Tweedie's Lipstick Plant, Tweedie's Basket Vine · tropical

Aeschynanthus tweediei is an epiphytic gesneriaceae species from the tropical rainforests of Southeast Asia, closely related to the common lipstick vine and sharing its characteristic tubular flowers and trailing growth habit. It is a specialist collector's species seldom seen outside botanical gardens and specialist nurseries, prized for its compact, neat trailing stems and vibrant blooms. Like all Aeschynanthus, it requires consistently warm temperatures and should never be exposed to temperatures below 15°C. The ASPCA lists Aeschynanthus (lipstick plant) as non-toxic to cats and dogs.

Cold limit: USDA 10-12 (indoor in most climates) · RHS H1b (16–26°C)

Watch for — Bud drop before flowering: Sudden changes in temperature, cold draughts, or low humidity cause buds to drop before opening; keep the plant in a stable, warm, draught-free position and maintain humidity above 60%.

What tweedie's lipstick plant's hardiness rating actually means

Tweedie's Lipstick Plant 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 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 10 °C (sustained cold below this is damaging). Tweedie's Lipstick Plant has no frost tolerance at all — it is an indoor plant in any climate with a real winter.

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

Tweedie's Lipstick Plant hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is tweedie's lipstick plant cold hardy?

Tweedie's Lipstick Plant 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. Tweedie's Lipstick Plant can only live outside year-round in genuinely frost-free climates (roughly USDA 10-12 (indoor in most climates)); everywhere else it is a houseplant that summers out at most.

What is the minimum temperature tweedie's lipstick plant can survive?

What hardiness zone is tweedie's lipstick plant?

Tweedie's Lipstick Plant is rated USDA 10-12 (indoor in most climates) and RHS H1b — Sub-tropical — a normal warm home is fine, but it cannot go outside in a cool season.

Can tweedie's lipstick plant 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 tweedie's lipstick plant 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.