Yellow ice plant
Delosperma nubigenum · Aizoaceae
A flat, succulent, bright green carpet that turns red in winter and disappears under shining yellow daisies in late spring.
- Size
- 2 in tall, 24 in wide
- Zones
- 5 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Mid May to late June
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Carpet
A bed built around yellow ice plant
The planner designed this bed around yellow ice plant 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 yellow ice plant stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Yellow ice plant × 4, yellow
- 2 Cranesbill 'Ballerina' × 8, pink
- 3 Stiff goldenrod × 3, yellow
- 4 Little bluestem 'The Blues' × 8, tan
- 5 Silver sage × 1, silver leaves
- 6 Coneflower 'Green Jewel' × 3, green
- 7 Star of Persia × 3, purple
- 8 Spring starflower × 12, blue
Why this plant
- Nothing here is unique to it. Its leaf, flower shape and colour are all on the plan already. Its case rests on where it stands and when it performs.
Why here
- On the front edge. At 2 in it frames the bed without hiding it, and it is in leaf all season. It finishes 47% of the edge.
- 4 plants in 2 runs (3 and 1). Runs of different lengths make the edge a frame, not a ruled line.
- Fine leaf against bold. Silver sage is beside it: the strongest contrast of leaf there is.
Why now
- In flower for six weeks. From mid May to late June.
- Fills a gap. For one of those weeks 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. The longest in flower is cranesbill 'Ballerina': 16 weeks, from late May to early September. Neither end outweighs the other: the visual weight is split 56 to 44, left to right.
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 yellow ice plant 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 hardiest ice plant. It seals a dry bank or the top of a wall against weeds, and needs sharp drainage above all: winter wet kills it, cold does not.
- Groundcover for hot, dry banks
- Wall tops and rock gardens
- Green roofs
What to plant with yellow ice plant
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Hens and chicks: its green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; tall enough (4 in) to stand behind it; happy in the same dry soil.
- Sedum 'Angelina': its chartreuse leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; tall enough (5 in) to stand behind it; 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 yellow ice plant
Does yellow ice plant need sun or shade?
Yellow ice plant 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. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does yellow ice plant 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 yellow ice plant 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 mid June |
| Zone 8 | Late April to mid June |
| Zone 9 | Mid April to early 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 yellow ice plant be planted?
16 in (40 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 24 in (60 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 yellow ice plant plants do I need?
At 16 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 7 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 8 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 21 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 four in two groups.
Is yellow ice plant poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Do deer eat yellow ice plant?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
What flowers after yellow ice plant?
Yellow ice plant 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 yellow ice plant look like in winter?
Yellow ice plant keeps its green and red leaves all winter, so it is one of the plants that hold a bed together from November to March, when the perennials have gone.
Is yellow ice plant good for bees and butterflies?
Yellow ice plant is visited by pollinators, bees and butterflies.
More Delosperma
- Hardy ice plant Delosperma cooperi
- Ice plant 'Fire Spinner' Delosperma 'Fire Spinner'
In these guides
- Salt-tolerant plants for roadsides and coasts
- Plants for slopes and banks
- Deer-resistant perennials for full sun
- Drought-tolerant perennials for full sun
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Plants for butterflies
- Plants for bees
- Low plants for the front of a border
- Groundcover plants
- Evergreen perennials, ferns and grasses
- Plants with purple and burgundy leaves
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial (groundcover)
- Size
- 2 in (5 cm) tall, 24 in (60 cm) wide
- Plant
- 16 in (40 cm) apart
- Height class
- Ground-hugging (up to 6 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- Mid May to late June; daisies; yellow
- Leaves
- Fine texture, evergreen; green, red
- 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
- Comes from
- South Africa
- Attracts
- Pollinators, bees, butterflies
- Stands up to
- Deer, drought, salt, erosion
Checked against NC State Extension. 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.