Ice plant 'Fire Spinner'
Delosperma 'Fire Spinner' · Aizoaceae
Glittering flowers in three rings of colour, orange outside, then magenta, with a white eye, on a flat mat of succulent leaves.
- Size
- 2 in tall, 18 in wide
- Zones
- 5 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Mid May to late June
- Pets
- Not checked
- Job in a bed
- Carpet
A bed built around ice plant 'Fire Spinner'
The planner designed this bed around ice plant 'Fire Spinner' when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 715 that suit those conditions and its dry soil, and says below why ice plant 'Fire Spinner' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Ice plant 'Fire Spinner' × 11, orange
- 2 October daphne × 6, pink
- 3 Stiff goldenrod × 3, yellow
- 4 Switchgrass 'Cheyenne Sky' × 8, purple
- 5 Silver sage × 1, silver leaves
- 6 Common blanket flower × 3, yellow
- 7 Star of Persia × 2, purple
- 8 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 4, purple
Why this plant
- The only orange.
Why here
- Under the taller plants. It runs back between them as living mulch: there its job is to cover the soil, not to be looked at.
- 11 plants in 3 groups (5, 3 and 3). Seen again further along, the same plant ties the bed together.
- Fine leaf against bold. Stiff goldenrod is beside it: the strongest contrast of leaf there is.
Why now
- In flower for 7 weeks. From mid May to late June.
- Opens the season. In its first week nothing else on the plan is in flower.
- The only leaves in winter. From November to March it is what there is to look at.
Planned as an English border: 6 of the 7 groups (86%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Cool colours (pink and purple) with orange and yellow as the warm notes. Switchgrass 'Cheyenne Sky', fine in leaf, stands next to bold-leaved stiff goldenrod, and each shows the other off.
The planner's own design check: 13 Excellent, 3 Good, 1 Satisfactory. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where ice plant 'Fire Spinner' goes in a border
At 2 in it belongs at the front of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is ground-hugging (up to 6 in).
Its job: carpet. A groundcover planted in threes and fives to cover the soil: along the front, and just behind it.
The most startling colour on any hardy groundcover. It flowers mainly in late spring and needs a cold winter to flower well. Give it gravel and full sun.
- Vivid colour for rock gardens
- Edging in dry, sunny beds
- Gravel gardens
What to plant with ice plant 'Fire Spinner'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Cobweb houseleek: its silver leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; tall enough (3 in) to stand behind it; happy in the same dry soil.
- Woolly thyme: its grey-green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; happy in the same dry soil.
- Blue fescue: its blue-green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; tall enough (10 in) to stand behind it; happy in the same dry soil.
Questions about ice plant 'Fire Spinner'
Does ice plant 'Fire Spinner' need sun or shade?
Ice plant 'Fire Spinner' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants dry, sharply drained soil, on the lean side, with no feeding, and little watering once settled.
What zones does ice plant 'Fire Spinner' grow in?
USDA zones 5 to 9. It is hardy to zone 5, which means it survives winter nights down to about −10 °F (−23 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does ice plant 'Fire Spinner' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers mid May to late June. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 5 | Mid May to late June |
|---|---|
| Zone 6 | Early May to late June |
| Zone 7 | Early May to late June |
| Zone 8 | Late April to late June |
| Zone 9 | Mid April to mid June |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should ice plant 'Fire Spinner' be planted?
12 in (30 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 18 in (45 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 2 in (5 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many ice plant 'Fire Spinner' plants do I need?
At 12 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 12 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 11 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 38 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as threes and fives, along the front and just behind it.
In the bed above, the planner used 11 in three groups.
Is there a native plant like ice plant 'Fire Spinner'?
Ice plant 'Fire Spinner' is not native to North America. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Three-toothed cinquefoil: the same job in a bed and the same flowering time; 4 in taller, white, not orange.
- Woolly yarrow: the same job in a bed and the same flowering time; 6 in taller, yellow, not orange.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
What flowers after ice plant 'Fire Spinner'?
Ice plant 'Fire Spinner' is over by late June. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Black-eyed Susan: from mid July to mid September, 24 in tall.
- Butterfly weed: from late June to early August, 24 in tall.
- Carpathian bellflower 'Blue Clips': from late June to late August, 8 in tall.
What does ice plant 'Fire Spinner' look like in winter?
Ice plant 'Fire Spinner' keeps its green leaves all winter, so it is one of the plants that hold a bed together from November to March, when the perennials have gone.
More Delosperma
- Hardy ice plant Delosperma cooperi
- Yellow ice plant Delosperma nubigenum
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial (groundcover)
- Size
- 2 in (5 cm) tall, 18 in (45 cm) wide
- Plant
- 12 in (30 cm) apart
- Height class
- Ground-hugging (up to 6 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- Mid May to late June; daisies; orange, pink, purple
- Leaves
- Fine texture, evergreen; green
- Shape
- Mat-forming, spreading
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 5 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Lean, dry and sharply drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Aizoaceae
Not yet checked against an outside reference: its figures rest on general horticultural knowledge. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.