Lampranthus - A Must Ground Cover Plant For A Dry Climate Garden
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By Jonathan Yaakobi
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Anyone who has seen a carpet of Ice Plant (Lampranthus spectabilis) in full colour cannot help but be impressed, if not moved. I don't think there's anything quite like it in the gardening world. When covering a reasonably significant area, say from 5 square meters, the flowers form a kind of wave, which not only provides staggering color, but texture and movement as well. The Ice Plant is a perennial succulent from South Africa. Flower colors range from rose pink, red, white and purple. Apart from the hottest desert areas, it can be grown when established, virtually without irrigation. Compared to annual flowers, which in a Mediterranean climate require at least 1000mm (1000 liters per square meter) of water a year, that is some saving! In order to get satisfactory results from your Ice Plants, I suggest the following fairly easy, but essential steps:
* Plant in the autumn/winter, not in the summer or spring. In this way the plants should be established before the summer. Ice plants do not really grow in the summer, the hot season being a kind of hibernation period.
* When in flower, do not wait for the last of the flowers to die off, instead, remove the remaining 25% or so of flowers, by lightly clipping the plants, using sheers or even a hedge trimmer. By so doing, vegetative growth is encouraged, the plants green-up and instead of an increasingly leggy and balding mess, you get a nice clean, if unspectacular compact ground cover during the summer, lovely winter growth, followed by the amazing display in the spring. Lampranthus should not be pruned back to the wood, as it is unlikely to rejuvenate if so pruned.
During the winter, which is its growing season, prune some cuttings, say 10 cm in length, and just stick them in the ground. With some care, they should start growing and spreading well before the onset of spring. As Lampranthus tends to degenerate after a few years, planting a certain percentage of the area each year with these cuttings, will allow for continual rejuvenation of the bed. To ensure obtaining the desired color, check out the flower blooms in a nursery during the spring, but for the reasons previously explained, wait till the autumn/winter before purchasing and planting.
Lampranthus is often confused with another genus of ice plant, Drosanthemum sp.This has smaller flowers and tends to degenerate less than Lampranthus, and so is an easier plant to grow, but is in my view less spectacular. If the maintenance tips described here are carried out, then there should be no problem in getting immense satisfaction from the Lampranthus ice plant.
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Author Bio Box: Jonathan Yaakobi
 My name is Jonathan Ya'akobi.
I've been gardening in a professional capacity since 1984.
I am the former head gardener of the Jerusalem Botanical Garden, but now concentrate on building gardens for private home owners.
I also teach horticulture to students on training courses.
I'd love to help you get the very best from your garden,
so you're welcome to visit me on http://www.dryclimategardening.com
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