Hardy Pink Ice Plant Review

This is a great low plant for the front of a flower bed. Here in zone 7, it blooms continuously from spring to fall. The picture I have included shows a bed that recently got upset by a weather change. It is usually much more densely covered with the bright pink flowers with yellow centers.

Its max height is about 6", and one plant can spread out to 18".  That 18 inch figure is somewhat misleading, though.  It can spread 18" from one root, but because it is a suculent, whenever a piece falls off it just roots where it lands.  If you are patient, you can cover quite an area with very little (purchased) plant.  I routinely break off sections of plant and stick them in the ground around a patch I want to expand, but even one leaf can form a new plant.  Because it is a suculent, it is also very drought tolerant. It blooms reliably with very little water.

The only problen you'll ever have with this plant is if it gets too wet, especially in winter. It does not like that at all, and may rot. 

There is also a yellow hardy ice plant (D. nubigenum).  It's pretty and reliable, but the flowers don't 'pop' visually like the pink ones.

Short story- It is rare indeed for something to be this easy and this pretty at the same time.

Scientific name- Delosperma cooperi

Hardiness- zones 6-11, some claim it will work in zone 5 (that's more probable if you live in the city)

Exposure- full sun