Ice Plant - Delosperma floribunda

[Tucson Grower]

I'm also planning to try this ice plant, a variety from Baker Creek. 'Purple Stardust'.



It looks like just the color my sweetheart would have loved. Apparently it s completely edible, like purslane.

[heavyhitterokra]

Tucson,

I've never heard of the Ice Plant before, that was a beautiful photo! And the fact that it's also edible makes it even more desirable as an addition to any garden. Yesterday when I read about your ice barometer located at the top of the wheelchair ramp it about made me cry. I'm glad you've found so many wonderful ways to honor your wife's memory.

Have a blessed day,
Ron

[chrysanthemum]

I agree wholeheartedly with heavyhitterokra’s comment above. I really appreciate al the different shades and types of purple and the creativity of the plants you’re finding for your memorial garden.

I had never heard of Ice Plant before either but did a little reading about it and am now considering growing it myself. We have an area of our backyard which should have grass, but it doesn’t because we don’t water, and it gets too much sun to survive the intense drought. I’ve been pondering recently what to put there, and from what I’ve read Ice Plant may do well. My only concern would be whether it could become invasive, but it seems like that’s more of a problem in frost-free areas. We definitely get frosts and freezes even if we’re not consistently cold.

If you know more about it than I do with regard to invasiveness, I’m all ears.

[Tucson Grower]

When I was a boy, living in Los Alamos, CA lt was planted on the sides of the 18 mile long route between there and Santa Maria, CA. It appeared to function as ornamental and erosion control. Later I would discover it used extensively throughout the freeway system in Southern California. I never saw it growing where it wasn't planted.

[Tucson Grower]

Apparently there are some areas in California where the iceplant does behave as an invasive.

[Tucson Grower]

The species of ice plant that have become invasives in many parts of the world are, Carpobrotus edulis and Carpobrotus chilensis, the first has yellow flowers and the second magenta, they are said to readily hybridize. They are also edible.

I linked their names, above to the wikipedia article about them. Apparently there are many plants from South Africa, all considered ice plants.

[heavyhitterokra]

Yep, just like you said, some flowers can become invasive. I brought some seeds of a wildflower home from Seattle, back in 1991 and planted them here in Northeast Oklahoma. In Seattle, they were sparse, but beautiful. Here, they grow as freely as dandelions. But they are still just as delicate and beautiful as they were in Seattle.

If a feller has to have an invasive species, what better invader than a wildflower as beautiful as that?

[hmoosek]

That’s beautiful!

[Tucson Grower]

Five of 6 have now germinated. Wow, are they tiny, even a little smaller than the moss rose seedlings.