Purple Ice Plant
Low growing carpet-like, succulent, native to South Africa but amazingly hardy in North America; bright purple daisy-like flowers cover the ground; green foliage has burgundy overtones in fall; perfect for xeriscapes, rock gardens, screes and sandy soils
Attracts,Pollinators, Butterflies
Brand,
Brand,
Botanical Name,
Bulb Size,
Bulbs per Package,
Deer Resistant,Yes
Evergreen or Deciduous,
Family,Ice Plant
Family Name,
Bloom Time,Early Summer to Early Fall
Foliage Color,Green
Genus,Delosperma
Genus Name,
Weather,
Days to Emerge,
Days to Maturity,
Edible,
Features,
Growth Rate,Fast
Hardiness,
Hardiness Zone,5b
Harvest Season,
Landscape Uses,Massing, Rock, Edging, Garden, Container
Light Needs,Full Sun, Partial Shade
Mature Height,2 inches (3 inches with the flowers)
Mature Width,24 inches
Prune Time,Spring Cleanup
Self Pollinating,
Water Needs,Dry to Average
Waterwise,Waterwise
Essentials for Success
For flourishing plants, use potting soil for potted plants or planting mix for garden beds paired with Root Zone starter fertilizer is the perfect duo to foster robust root growth and minimize transplant shock.
Details
Purple Ice Plant is an herbaceous evergreen perennial with a ground-hugging habit of growth. Its relatively fine texture sets it apart from other garden plants with less refined foliage.
This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and is best cleaned up in early spring before it resumes active growth for the season. It is a good choice for attracting bees and butterflies to your yard, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.
Purple Ice Plant is recommended for the following landscape applications:
- Mass Planting
- Rock/Alpine Gardens
- Border Edging
- General Garden Use
- Container Planting
Features
Purple Ice Plant features showy purple daisy flowers with gold eyes rising above the foliage from early summer to early fall. Its attractive small succulent narrow leaves are light green in color. As an added bonus, the foliage turns a gorgeous burgundy in the fall. The fruit is not ornamentally significant.
Care
Planting & Growing
Purple Ice Plant will grow to be only 2 inches tall at maturity extending to 3 inches tall with the flowers, with a spread of 24 inches. Its foliage tends to remain low and dense right to the ground. It grows at a fast rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 5 years.
This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers dry to average moisture levels with very well-drained soil, and will often die in standing water. It is considered to be drought-tolerant, and thus makes an ideal choice for a low-water garden or xeriscape application. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in sandy soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This species is not originally from North America. It can be propagated by cuttings.
Purple Ice Plant is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. Because of its spreading habit of growth, it is ideally suited for use as a 'spiller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the edges where it can spill gracefully over the pot. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.
