When winter starts to get to you, houseplants can help to brighten things up. Some houseplants can survive cold temperatures if you keep the thermostat low.
So, which houseplants are cold tolerant? Cold tolerant houseplants include Belgian Mum, Camellia, English Ivy, Hosta, Maidenhair Fern, Mugo Pine, Oregano, Royal Fern, Stonecrop, and Trefoil. Some of these plants have beautiful leaves or flowers to display in your home.
Of course, some of these houseplants will need to stay indoors year-round. Others can stay outside for part of the year.
In this article, we’ll look at 10 cold tolerant houseplants. We’ll also talk about their proper care in terms of water, light, and other important factors.
Let’s get started.
10 Cold Tolerant Houseplants
There are lots of cold tolerant houseplants available. Here is a list of 10 to start with:
- Belgian Mum
- Camellia
- English Ivy
- Hosta
- Maidenhair Fern
- Mugo Pine
- Oregano
- Royal Fern
- Stonecrop
- Trefoil
Let’s start off with Belgian Mum.
Belgian Mum
Belgian Mum (Chrysanthemum Allegra Yellow) is a houseplant that produces yellow flowers in late summer to fall.
Image courtesy of user:
Audrey via:
Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chrysanthemums_(2).jpg
According to Clemson University, a Belgian Mum can grow 18 to 36 inches tall, with a similar width. It prefers full sun and slightly acidic soil (with a pH of 6.1 to 6.5).
Belgian Mum needs moderate moisture levels. Too much water will cause root rot and eventually kill the plant.
The plant can tolerate severe cold. It is hardy to Zone 5a (as cold as -20 degrees Fahrenheit or -29 degree Celsius).
You can propagate Belgian Mums by division or from stem cuttings.
You can learn more about Belgian Mums from the National Gardening Association’s Plant Database.
You can find yellow Belgian Mums from Grow Joy.
Camellia
Camellia (Camellia oleifera) is a drought tolerant evergreen shrub that can be kept as a houseplant. It produces showy fragrant small (2 to 3 inch) pink flowers in late winter or spring.
Camellia needs moderate moisture levels. Too much water will cause root rot and eventually kill the plant.
Camellia prefers full sun, but it can tolerate partial shade. It prefers acidic soil (pH of 5.5 to 6.5).
Camellia can tolerate severe cold. It is hardy to Zone 4b (as cold as -25 degrees Fahrenheit or -32 degrees Celsius).
This plant can grow to a height of 3 to 5 feet, with a width of 3 to 4 feet.
You can propagate Camellia by stem cuttings.
You can learn more about Camellia from the National Gardening Association’s Plant Database.
You can find Camellia from Mr. Maple.
English Ivy
English Ivy (Hedera helix) is a perennial vining shrub that can be kept as a houseplant. It produces tiny (less than 1 inch) greenish white flowers in late summer, fall, or winter.
English Ivy needs moderate or wet moisture levels, but resists drought. Too much water will cause root rot and eventually kill the plant.
English Ivy tolerates partial or full shade, but it can survive in full sun. It can tolerate moderately acidic to slightly alkaline soil (pH of 5.6 to 7.8).
English Ivy can tolerate severe cold. It is hardy to Zone 4a (as cold as -30 degrees Fahrenheit or –34 degrees Celsius).
This plant grows to a height of 36 feet.
You can propagate English Ivy by layering, stem cuttings, tip cuttings, or by seeds.
You can learn more about English Ivy from the National Gardening Association’s Plant Database.
You can find English Ivy from Calloway’s Nursery.
You might also want to read about 10 climbing vine houseplants in my article here.
Hosta
Hosta is a drought tolerant perennial ground cover herb that can be kept as a houseplant. It produces fragrant white flowers in summer or early fall.
Hosta needs moderate moisture. It needs good drainage in a container. Too much water will cause root rot and eventually kill the plant.
Hosta prefers partial shade. It prefers neutral soil (pH of 6.5 to 7.5).
Hosta can tolerate extreme cold. It is hardy to Zone 3 (as cold as -40 degrees Fahrenheit or -40 degrees Celsius).
This plant can grow to a height of 10 to 18 inches, with a width of 36 to 48 inches.
You can propagate Hosta by division, but it will not grow true from seed.
You can learn more about Hosta from the National Gardening Association’s Plant Database.
You can find Hosta from Spring Hill Nursery.
Mugo Pine
Mugo Pine (Pinus mugo) is a drought tolerant perennial ground cover herb that can be kept as a houseplant. It produces inconspicuous flowers and has a taproot underground.
Mugo Pine needs moderate to dry moisture levels. Too much water will cause root rot and eventually kill the plant.
Mugo Pine needs full sun. It prefers acidic to neutral soil (pH of 4.5 to 7.5).
Mugo Pine can tolerate severe cold. It is hardy to Zone 4a (as cold as -30 degrees Fahrenheit or -34 degrees Celsius).
This plant can grow to a height of 12 to 24 inches, with a width of 12 to 36 inches.
You can propagate Mugo Pine by softwood cuttings.
You can learn more about Mugo Pine from the National Gardening Association’s Plant Database.
You can find Mugo Pine from Garden Goods Direct.
Northern Maidenhair Fern
Northern Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum pedatum) is a perennial deciduous fern that has underground rhizomes.
Northern Maidenhair Fern prefers moderate to wet moisture levels.
Northern Maidenhair Fern prefers full sun, but it can tolerate partial or full shade. It prefers neutral soil (pH of 6.8 to 7.2).
Northern Maidenhair Fern can tolerate severe cold. It is hardy to Zone 3a (as cold as -40 degrees Fahrenheit or –40 degrees Celsius).
This plant grows to a height of 12 to 24 inches, with a width of 12 to 24 inches.
You can propagate Northern Maidenhair Fern by division or spores.
You can learn more about Northern Maidenhair Fern from the National Gardening Association’s Plant Database.
You can find Northern Maidenhair Fern from Spring Hill Nursery.
Oregano
Oregano (Origanum vulgare) is a drought tolerant perennial herb that can be kept as a houseplant. It produces showy tiny (less than 1 inch) flowers that are white, pink, lavender in summer or early fall.
Oregano needs moderate to dry moisture levels. Too much water will cause root rot and eventually kill the plant.
Oregano prefers full sun, but it can tolerate partial shade. It prefers acidic to slightly alkaline soil (pH of 5.6 to 7.8).
Oregano can tolerate severe cold. It is hardy to Zone 4a (as cold as -30 degrees Fahrenheit or -34 degrees Celsius).
This plant can grow to a height of 4 to 6 inches, with a width of 12 to 24 inches.
You can propagate Oregano by layering, division, or seeds.
You can learn more about Oregano from the National Gardening Association’s Plant Database.
You can find Oregano from Hooks Green Herbs.
Royal Fern
Royal Fern (Osmunda spectabilis) is a perennial fern that can be kept as a houseplant. It produces underground rhizomes.
Royal Fern needs moderate to wet moisture levels.
Royal Fern needs partial or full shade. It prefers slightly acidic to slightly alkaline soil (pH of 6.1 to 7.8).
Royal Fern can tolerate severe cold. It is hardy to Zone 3a (as cold as -40 degrees Fahrenheit or -40 degrees Celsius).
This plant can grow to a height of 2 to 3 feet, with a width of 2 to 3 feet.
You can propagate Royal Fern by spores at the tips of the fronds.
You can learn more about Royal Fern from the National Gardening Association’s Plant Database.
You can find Royal Fern from Far Reaches Farm.
Stonecrop
Stonecrop (Hylotelephium) is a drought tolerant perennial succulent herb that can be kept as a houseplant. It produces showy tiny (less than 1 inch) pink flowers in summer or early fall.
Stonecrop needs moderate moisture levels. Too much water will cause root rot and eventually kill the plant.
Stonecrop prefers full sun, but it can tolerate partial shade. It prefers acidic to slightly alkaline soil (pH of 6.6 to 7.8).
Stonecrop can tolerate severe cold. It is hardy to Zone 3a (as cold as -40 degrees Fahrenheit or -40 degrees Celsius).
This plant can grow to a height of 6 to 8 inches.
You can propagate Stonecrop by division or stem cuttings.
You can learn more about Stonecrop from the National Gardening Association’s Plant Database.
You can find Stonecrop from Waitrose.
Trefoil
Trefoil (Trifolium rubens) is a drought tolerant perennial herb that can be kept as a houseplant. It produces showy tiny (less than 1 inch) white flowers in spring or early summer.
Trefoil needs moderate moisture levels. Too much water will cause root rot and eventually kill the plant.
Trefoil prefers full sun, but it can tolerate partial shade. It prefers acidic to neutral soil (pH of 6.1 to 7.3).
Trefoil can tolerate severe cold. It is hardy to Zone 4a (as cold as -30 degrees Fahrenheit or -34 degrees Celsius).
This plant can grow to a height of 4 to 6 inches, with a width of 12 to 18 inches.
You can propagate Trefoil by division.
You can learn more about Trefoil from the National Gardening Association’s Plant Database.
You can find Trefoil from Bluestone Perennials.
Conclusion
Now you know about 10 cold tolerant houseplants to try. You also know how to take care of them so you can get started with growing them at home.
You can also learn about cold weather plants for landscaping here.
Before you get your plants home, they might need to make a trip in your car. You can read my article about leaving plants in a car overnight to find out what to avoid.
You might also be interested in reading my article about houseplants with yellow flowers, my article on houseplants with orange flowers, my article on houseplants with blue flowers, or my article on houseplants with purple flowers.
If you are a teacher, you can learn more about plants for the classroom in my article here.
Some plants like high humidity – you can learn more about how to take care of them with plant misters in my article here.
If you have trouble remembering to water your plants, you might also be interested in 10 cacti that you can keep as houseplants or 10 houseplants for dry climates.
If you are limited on space, you can find 7 houseplants for apartments here.
You can find houseplants that are hard to kill here.
I hope you found this article helpful. If so, please share it with someone who can use the information.
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~Jonathon