Ornamental · Aizoaceae
Ice Plant
Delosperma cooperi
Give it full sun and sharp drainage, and this succulent lays a low carpet of jewel-toned flowers across the summer garden.
Full sun
USDA 6–10
3–6 in · 8–15 cm
Overview
Ice plant belongs wherever a garden wants an effortless sweep of summer color at ground level. A low, mat-forming succulent from South Africa, it settles into a dense carpet of fleshy, finger-like leaves, then through the warm months it turns itself over to daisy-like flowers in purple, pink, orange, and yellow that read across a border like scattered light. At just 3 to 6 inches tall, it slips naturally into the role of groundcover, a clean edging along a path, or a spiller softening the lip of a wall or rockery.
What earns it a place in a considered planting scheme, beyond the many look-alikes that share its name, is genuine cold hardiness. Delosperma cooperi holds through winters to USDA zone 6, far beyond the reach of the tender ice plants most gardeners have in mind, and it carries real drought and heat tolerance besides. That toughness makes it the piece a designer reaches for on a hot, dry bank or a baking terrace edge, the sort of setting where a softer plant would sulk.
The single condition it asks in return is dry ground, since it keeps no patience for wet feet. Frame it well and the whole planting more or less runs itself: gritty soil, an open sunny aspect, and a raised or free-draining spot are all it wants from a garden. Leave it in cold, soggy ground over winter, though, and even the handsomest carpet slips away by spring.
Care
The short version: an open, full-sun spot, gritty fast-draining soil, and a light touch with water. Let it dry between drinks, hold it nearly dry through winter, and it asks little more of a garden.
Light
Ice plant asks for an open, full sun position, 6 or more hours of direct light a day, and that exposure is what fuels its summer color. A little partial sun is tolerable, but a shadier corner leaves you with weak, stretched growth and only a scattering of flowers.
Water
Water sparingly, and only after the soil has dried out completely. An occasional deep drink carries it through the growing season, while over winter it should sit nearly dry. This is a true succulent, and overwatering is the quickest way to lose the planting.
Soil
Drainage sets the whole scheme. Give it a gritty, sharply drained sandy or gravelly bed, and where the ground runs to clay, work in plenty of grit or raise the planting above it. Soggy soil rots the crown and takes the display with it.
Temperature
It weathers both extremes with ease, holding from about -9°F to 100°F (-23°C to 38°C). That reach into the cold is precisely what lets it overwinter in the open where most succulents cannot.
Humidity
It favors low humidity and dry air, fitting for a plant built for hot, dry banks. Damp, still corners suit it poorly, so an airy, open placement keeps the carpet in good health.
Feeding
It wants almost nothing at the table. In lean, well-drained soil you can leave feeding aside entirely, and at most offer a light, balanced feed in spring. Rich ground and heavy feeding only coax soft, floppy growth that loses its clean line.
Pruning
Run a light shear across the mat after the main flush of bloom to tidy the sweep and draw a second show of flowers. Come spring, clear away any dead or frost-damaged growth so fresh shoots can fill the picture.
Repotting
In a container it needs repotting only every 2 to 3 years. Roots showing at the drainage holes, or a mat thinning at its center, are the cue that the pot has filled and the planting wants moving on.
Size & spacing
The carpet stays low at 3 to 6 inches (8 to 15 cm) while spreading into a broad mat of 12 to 24 inches (30 to 60 cm). Space plants so the sheets meet and knit into one continuous surface without heaping over one another.
When to plant
As a hardy perennial, ice plant is a planting you set once and keep, returning of its own accord each year to fill the same stretch of ground. Put fresh plants out in spring once the worst frost has passed, and the color arrives from June through September. Winter tests it not with cold but with wet soil, so the site matters more than the season.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Harvest: Summer; flowers roughly June to September
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 6–10
Temperature: down to -23°C
Troubleshooting
Ice plant is an unusually low-maintenance planting, and nearly every problem it raises leads back to one source: water lingering around the roots. Read the early signs and most issues never mar the display. Match what the carpet is showing below, then step in before a soft patch spreads across it.
A carpet that blackens or vanishes over winter
The culprit is crown and root rot, the single failure that can undo an otherwise unflappable planting. A crown left sitting in cold, wet soil through the season turns the stems and roots soft and mushy, and heavy clay only deepens the trouble. Work grit into the bed, lift the planting onto a raised, sharply drained spot, and dress the base with gravel rather than bark.
Fix:
- Improve drainage with grit or gravel and replant in a raised, sharply drained spot
- Avoid bark mulch over the crown; use gravel instead
- Provide a sheltered, drier site in marginal zones
A sticky sheen or white flecks on the planting
Two sap-feeders are behind the blemish. Aphids gather on the freshest growth and leave it warped, while mealybugs settle in as white, cottony smudges along the stems. A firm jet of water usually restores the carpet's polish, and insecticidal soap is a last resort if they keep returning.
Fix:
- Rinse off with a strong jet of water
- Treat with insecticidal soap if populations persist
A thin, reaching planting with little color
The reason is simply too little sun. Set in shade, the planting stretches toward the light and offers only a scattering of bloom, while the very same carpet in an open position turns into a sheet of color. Give it a spot that drinks in 6 or more hours of direct sun a day and its display returns.
Fix:
- Relocate to a position receiving 6 or more hours of direct sun
Toxicity
A welcome note for households with pets or children: ice plant is not known to be toxic, and no poisoning reports are linked to it. One honest footnote, though — the ASPCA's non-toxic 'Ice Plant' listing actually covers a close relative, Lampranthus, rather than this species itself, which has never been formally evaluated, so it's best treated as low-risk rather than certified safe. Cats, dogs, and children can generally be around it without concern, but as with any garden plant, it's still worth discouraging pets and kids from snacking on it.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats Non-toxic
Cats are welcome in the garden without a second thought; a stem sampled in passing does this succulent's admirers no harm.
Dogs Non-toxic
Dogs can share the space freely, and a clump disturbed or a leaf chewed leaves them none the worse.
Horses Non-toxic
A horse grazing the edge of a border or path meets nothing that would trouble it.
Rabbits Non-toxic
Rabbits can graze the soft leaves at leisure, though a carpet this fleshy rarely tempts them.
Livestock Non-toxic
Cattle, goats, and sheep pass by the mat and its flowers with nothing to fear.
Birds Non-toxic
Garden birds and backyard poultry may forage across it in complete safety.
People Non-toxic
The planting is safe to work among, and a stray taste by a child is nothing to alarm the household.
Varieties
Breeders have widened the palette of hardy ice plant considerably, and a few series and selections carry it further than the rest. These are the names worth knowing when planning a color scheme.
Jewel of Desert series
Compact and generous with bloom, these cultivars run the color range from peridot-yellow to garnet-red and appear widely in RHS listings.
Wheels of Wonder series (e.g., Hot Pink Wonder, Orange Wonder)
Strong-spreading selections chosen for flowers of an unusually generous size.
'Mesa Verde' (Delosperma 'Kelaidis')
A salmon-pink Plant Select introduction that emerged as a sport of a dwarf alpine form of D. cooperi at Denver Botanic Gardens.
How to propagate
Ice plant is among the most obliging plants to increase, which makes filling a border or a whole terrace edge an easy prospect. Three simple, forgiving methods are open to you, whether the aim is a single plant or a broad sweep of them.
Stem cuttingsEasy
Spring to summer · 2-4 weeks to root
Cuttings are the fastest way to build up a planting. Take short, fleshy stem pieces any time from spring to summer, let the cut ends callus for a day or two, then set them into a gritty mix, where they take root in 2 to 4 weeks.
DivisionEasy
Spring · One growing season
An established carpet lifts and divides with ease. Lift it in spring and part it into pieces, and the rooted runners settle straight into fresh ground, closing over the gap within a single growing season.
SeedEasy
Spring · One growing season
Seed is a dependable route to a sweep of plants. Surface-sow the fine seed in spring with warmth and light, and the seedlings reach a size ready for the garden across one growing season.
Myths
Every plant called 'ice plant' is the same species and equally weedy or toxic.
The name is shared across several unrelated Aizoaceae genera. The invasive coastal weed is Carpobrotus, and the ASPCA's non-toxic 'ice plant' is Lampranthus piquetbergensis. Hardy Delosperma cooperi stands apart as its own refined ornamental and deserves to be judged on its own terms.
Ice plant needs frequent watering to thrive.
It is a drought-tolerant succulent that looks its best in dry, sharply drained ground. Overwatering is what undoes it, since a soggy crown and roots give way to rot.