Coccinea Grandis / Perennial Cucumber / Ivy Gourd cold hardiness

[GFC]

I have one Ivy Gourd plant in a pot. I bought it off ebay out of curiosity. Do I need to bring the plant indoors when the temp is 32 and under. I live a few miles west of Gainesville Fl. zone 8b

[Galatians522]

I have not grown this, but I have never heard of a curcubit that was frost tollerent. Even the ones native to temperate areas are annuals that are killed by frost. You should probably bring it in even if temps are predicted to be in the high 30s. Frost can still happen at those temps and would be very likely to harm your plant.

[Stomata]

Ive seen them survive frosts when the tindora grew from beneath oak trees. exposed ive seen them grow back readily from a developed tuberous root.

[Galatians522]

I have seen many frost sensitive plants survive under oak canopy while their counterparts were killed in the open. The tuber must be why its listed as a perennial hardy to zone 9. I would imagine that defeloping the root tuber will take several months.