Ornamental · Aizoaceae
Ice Plant
Delosperma cooperi
Give it full sun and sharp drainage, and this succulent spreads a low carpet of jewel-toned flowers all summer.
Full sun
USDA 6–10
3–6 in · 8–15 cm
Overview
Ice plant is a low, mat-forming succulent from South Africa whose short, trailing stems carry rows of fleshy, finger-like leaves, plump and cool to the touch and packed with stored water. Through summer the mat opens daisy-like flowers in purple, pink, orange, and yellow, each a tight wheel of narrow, glinting petals that flash in the light like crushed glass. The whole plant hugs the ground at 3 to 6 inches, so it reads as a low green carpet studded with color.
What sets this one apart from the many plants sharing the name is its cold hardiness. Delosperma cooperi comes through winters down to USDA zone 6, far below what the tender ice plants most people picture can bear, its succulent stems firming up to hold that cold. Paired with real drought and heat tolerance, that toughness lets the leaves stay swollen and glossy on hot, dry banks where thinner foliage would scorch and shrivel.
The catch is that it has no patience for wet feet. Everything about growing it comes down to drainage. In gritty soil and full sun the leaves stay firm and the flowers keep coming, but left in cold, soggy ground over winter the plump stems soften, blacken, and melt away to nothing.
Care
The short version: full sun, gritty fast-draining soil, and a light hand with the watering can. Let the fleshy leaves dry between drinks, keep it nearly dry through winter, and it asks for almost nothing else.
Light
Ice plant wants full sun, 6 or more hours of direct light a day, and that light is what keeps the leaves swollen and the flowers open wide. It tolerates a little partial sun, but anything shadier draws the stems out thin and pale and leaves the mat with only a scattering of bloom.
Water
Water sparingly, and only once the soil has dried out completely, since the leaves already hold their own reserve of moisture. An occasional deep drink is plenty through the growing season, and over winter the plant should stay nearly dry. It is a true succulent, and overwatering swells and bursts its tissue faster than anything else can harm it.
Soil
Drainage is everything. Set it in a gritty, sharply drained sandy or gravelly mix, and if your ground runs to sticky clay, fork in plenty of grit or build up a raised spot. Soggy soil softens and rots the fleshy crown.
Temperature
It is remarkably tough on both ends, hardy from about -9°F to 100°F (-23°C to 38°C). That deep cold tolerance is what lets its succulent stems overwinter outdoors where most others turn to mush.
Humidity
It prefers low humidity and dry air, which suits a plant whose thick leaves already store their own water. Damp, still conditions leave a film on the foliage and invite trouble, so moving air keeps the surfaces dry and firm.
Feeding
It barely needs feeding. In lean, well-drained soil you can skip it entirely, and at most give a light, balanced feed in spring. Rich soil and heavy feeding pump the stems up soft and floppy so they sprawl and split.
Pruning
Shear the mat lightly after the main flush of bloom to clip back the spent flower stems and coax a fresh round of buds. In spring, pull away any blackened, frost-mushed growth so the firm new shoots have clear ground to spread across.
Repotting
A container-grown plant needs repotting only every 2 to 3 years. Watch for pale roots poking through the drainage holes, or the center of the mat thinning and going bare, both signs the pot has filled and it is time to move on.
Size & spacing
The stems stay low at 3 to 6 inches (8 to 15 cm) tall while creeping outward into a wide mat of 12 to 24 inches (30 to 60 cm). Space plants so the spreading carpets meet and knit into one fleshy sheet without heaping over each other.
When to plant
Ice plant is a hardy perennial, so once its stems root in they return on their own each year. Set new plants out in spring after the worst frost has passed, and the flowers open across the mat from June through September. In winter the danger is not cold but wet soil around those succulent roots.
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 has few problems, and nearly all of them trace back to one thing: too much water sitting around the roots and softening its fleshy tissue. Learn to spot the early signs, a soft stem here, a paling leaf there, and most issues are easy to head off. Match what you see below, then act before a soft patch spreads.
Blackened, slumping stems that never green up in spring
This darkening and collapse is crown and root rot, the one failure that fells an otherwise tough plant. Cold, wet soil pressed against the crown all winter turns the once-firm stems and roots soft and mushy under a finger, and heavy clay only deepens the sog. Fork grit into the ground, lift the plant onto a raised, sharply drained rise, and bank gravel rather than bark against the base.
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 and white cottony flecks on the stems
Two sap-feeders leave these marks on the fleshy growth. Aphids cluster on the softest new tips and buckle them into a twisted, puckered shape, while mealybugs dot the stems with white, waxy tufts that look like snags of cotton. A hard jet of water knocks them loose, and insecticidal soap handles any that cling on and rebuild.
Fix:
- Rinse off with a strong jet of water
- Treat with insecticidal soap if populations persist
Thin, elongated stems carrying only a few blooms
Pale, drawn-out growth like this signals too little sun. Set in shade, the stems lengthen and lean toward the light and open only a scattering of flowers, while the same plant in the open studs itself with color petal to petal. A place that takes 6 or more hours of direct sun a day fills the mat back in.
Fix:
- Relocate to a position receiving 6 or more hours of direct sun
Toxicity
Good news for pet owners and parents: ice plant is not known to be toxic, and there are no reports of cats, dogs, or curious kids coming to harm from a nibble of its juicy leaves. One honest footnote, though: Delosperma cooperi itself has never been formally evaluated for toxicity, since the ASPCA's non-toxic 'ice plant' listing actually covers a close relative, Lampranthus. So it is fair to call this a low-risk plant rather than a certified-safe one, and it is still worth steering pets and children away from snacking on it, as with any garden plant.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats Non-toxic
A cat that bites into one of the plump, juicy stems takes no harm from this succulent.
Dogs Non-toxic
A dog that roots up a clump or crunches a few of the fleshy leaves comes away unharmed.
Horses Non-toxic
A horse cropping the low green mat at the edge of a path meets nothing harmful in it.
Rabbits Non-toxic
A rabbit can chew the soft, water-filled leaves without harm, though it rarely bothers with growth this thick and fleshy.
Livestock Non-toxic
Cattle, goats, and sheep take no harm from the succulent mat or its bright flowers.
Birds Non-toxic
Garden birds and backyard poultry can pick at the leaves and petals in safety.
People Non-toxic
The cool, rubbery foliage is safe in the hand, and a stray taste by a child is no emergency.
Varieties
Breeders have stretched the color range of hardy ice plant across the whole jeweled spectrum, and a few series and selections stand out from the rest. These are the ones worth knowing by name.
Jewel of Desert series
Compact, densely flowering cultivars whose blooms span a jeweled range from peridot-yellow to deep garnet-red, and the RHS lists them widely.
Wheels of Wonder series (e.g., Hot Pink Wonder, Orange Wonder)
Vigorous, spreading selections that open flowers of an unusually large, wheel-like size.
'Mesa Verde' (Delosperma 'Kelaidis')
A soft salmon-pink Plant Select introduction that arose as a sport of a dwarf alpine form of D. cooperi at Denver Botanic Gardens.
How to propagate
Ice plant is among the easiest plants to multiply, in part because its plump stems root so willingly. Three methods are open to you, all simple and forgiving, whether you want a single new plant or a tray of them.
Stem cuttingsEasy
Spring to summer · 2-4 weeks to root
Cuttings are the quickest way to make more. Snap off short, plump stem segments from spring through summer, leave the wet-looking cut ends to dry into a firm callus for a day or two, then press them into a gritty mix, where they root in 2 to 4 weeks.
DivisionEasy
Spring · One growing season
An established mat pulls apart into rooted pieces with ease. Lift it in spring and tease the tangle of trailing stems into clumps, and each rooted runner drops into new ground and knits back over a single growing season.
SeedEasy
Spring · One growing season
Seed builds a lot of plants at once. Scatter the dust-fine seed across the surface in spring under warmth and light, and the tiny seedlings swell to a planting-out size over one growing season.
Myths
Every plant called 'ice plant' is the same species and equally weedy or toxic.
Several unrelated Aizoaceae genera answer to the name. The invasive coastal weed is Carpobrotus, and the ASPCA's non-toxic 'ice plant' is Lampranthus piquetbergensis. Hardy Delosperma cooperi is a distinct ornamental and should not be lumped in with either.
Ice plant needs frequent watering to thrive.
The fleshy, moisture-storing leaves already carry their own reserve, so this drought-tolerant succulent does best in dry, sharply drained ground. Wet soil is what kills it, because the crown and roots turn soft and rot when they stay soggy.