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Groundcover · Aizoaceae Draft — unreviewed

Hardy ice plant

Delosperma cooperi (Hook.f.) L.Bolus

Also called hardy ice plant, purple ice plant.

Succulent mat covered in glistening magenta daisies all summer. Thrives in hot, dry gravel and rock gardens.

Size over time

Typical landscape size 0.1–0.1 m (0 ft) tall and 0.5–0.6 m (1–2 ft) wide; fast growth, about 2 years to maturity. Intermediate sizes use the planner’s growth curve (k = 0.45) from the plug install size.

00.511.52mPlanting0.1 × 0.1 mYear 30.1 × 0.4 mYear 100.1 × 0.5 mMature0.1 × 0.5 m

Bloom

Magenta flowers, May–Sep (northern-hemisphere months; timing shifts with region and season).

Bloom calendar: months each plant is in bloom
PlantJFMAMJJASOND
Hardy ice plant : May–Sep

Design notes

  • Winter-wet soil kills it faster than cold.
  • Not for foot traffic.

Regions

Native range: South Africa.

Not recorded as native to any of the three pilot regions.

Native status describes where the species occurs naturally. It is not a promise that it suits a particular garden; site conditions decide that.

Related plants

Canadian wild ginger
Asarum canadense · Groundcover · 0.1–0.2 m (0–1 ft)
Japanese painted fern
Athyrium niponicum 'Pictum' · Groundcover · 0.3–0.5 m (1 ft)
Pennsylvania sedge
Carex pensylvanica · Groundcover · 0.2–0.3 m (0–1 ft)
Trailing indigo bush
Dalea greggii · Groundcover · 0.3–0.6 m (1–2 ft)
Blue Rug creeping juniper
Juniperus horizontalis 'Wiltonii' · Groundcover · 0.1–0.2 m (0 ft)
Trailing lantana
Lantana montevidensis · Groundcover · 0.3–0.6 m (1–2 ft)

Plan with Hardy ice plant

Place it in a design, check it against your zone, light and moisture, and see it at year three and year ten.

Start designing Try a sample garden