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Aizoaceae
Ice Plant
Delosperma cooperi
Endurance, brilliance in harsh places.
- Family
- Aizoaceae
- Genus
- Delosperma
- Native to
- South Africa
- Bloom season
- Spring, Summer, Fall
- Type
- Succulent ground cover
- Height
- 5–15 cm
- Sunlight
- Full sun
- Soil
- Sharply drained, gravelly
- Water
- Low; very drought-tolerant
- Hardiness
- 5–10
- Lifespan
- Long-lived perennial
Did you know
- The 'ice' in the name comes from glistening, water-filled cells on the leaf surface that look like ice crystals or frost in bright sunlight.
- Each daisy-like flower has dozens of impossibly thin shimmering petals that look almost holographic in the sun.
- Ice plant flowers close at night and on cloudy days, unfurling again only when the sun is bright.
- It's one of the toughest, most cold-hardy succulent ground covers — some Delosperma species survive sub-zero winters as far north as USDA zone 5.
- Bees and small butterflies adore the nectar-rich blooms, often turning a single mat into a humming carpet.
Color meanings
Pink
Resilient beauty