delosperma & aizoaceae

[Jean-Patrick AGIER]

Hi,
I've found not many contributions about these wonderful plants. I don't know where to put this topic for these daisy-like flowers aren't all suited ( or used ) for a rock garden. Many are annuals ( or considered as ) some are hardy only in the mediterrannean zone, and few are proving perfectly hardy in Europe (as the well known Delosperma Cooperi ). I'm sure everybody grows at least one species. I would be particularly interested in tips on how and when it is best to collect seeds ( for the exchanges... ). I've tried many times to open the little capsules and really got nothing useful...
Hope there will be a lot of contributions from you all

[Maggi Young]

We don't hear a lot about these interesting plants, you are right.... but the latest WisleyLog mentions them, as a coincidence!
 See here: http://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/logdir/2009Jul021246568306Log_14_of_2009.pdf

[Jean-Patrick AGIER]

Many thanks Maggi for this intersting link. I'll try to find other contributions somewhere in the RHS, AGS & SRGC websites.
Here are other pics of the plants I grew. I've sown seeds got from the seed exchanges ( delosperma sutherlandii, harazianum, "john profitt" ) and others got from seed companies ( delosperma lavisiae, cephalophyllum mxd, lampranthus mxd ). Hope to have flowers next year...

[Lori S.]

Terrific plants, Jean-Patrick!  In what part of the world do you reside?  It would be interesting to know, in order to better judge the hardiness of some of these species.

[Lesley Cox]

Jean-Patrick comes from Lyons in France. Click the name of the poster at the top left of the post, for profile information.

[Lori S.]

I see. Thank you, Lesley!

[cohan]

this spring i got a couple of Delosperma to try here: 'gold nugget' which is presumably D congestum, and D nubigenum; both locally, from mainstream garden centres;
 they 'should' be hardy here, i will be trying them probably in open rock garden, or other raised bed, both of which still need to be dug/built...lol...if it doesnt get finished this year, i will sink the pots in the ground for winter..

these are both yellow flowering species; i have seen several other offerings of hardy species (presumably to zone 3-4) at both beavercreek and wrightman's in canada; especially exciting to me was a pale pink flowered species at wrightmans; they also had a white flowered sp besides the usual yellow and purple...

[Lori S.]

I have not had any success here with Delosperma cooperi, after a small number of trials.  (Perhaps I've been too cautious with it...I should give it one last go and just plant it out in the unsheltered open with the others, and see if "reverse psychology" works!)

Forgive me for showing these same ones again...
1) Delosperma aff. congestum, from seed in 2003, has been hardy here.
2)  D. basuticum, bought in 2008, came through the winter well.
3)  D. nubigenum was also bought in 2008, and wintered over well.

I bought a couple of pink-flowered ones this spring, and have planted them out in the same open area as the others, so it will be interesting to see if they survive the winter:  Delosperma sp. aff. larisiae, and Delosperma 'John Proffitt'

I moved a couple of D. congestum (from the same old batch) into a raised trough a couple of years ago, and oddly enough, they did not survive the winter there.  I think I may have planted them poorly, or at the wrong time of year.... or maybe it was just pushing the limit too far, I don't know. 

[cohan]

well, lori, there seems to be some difference at least between those 3 yellows..
where did you get the pinks?
i didnt think cooperi was worth trying here..but who knows? i guess there are varying altitude collections.

[fermi de Sousa]

These succulents are long-time favourites in Australia especially for covering up embankments where it's difficult to get other things to grow and even harder to mow!
here are a few in our garden from last October,
cheers
fermi

[cohan]

These succulents are long-time favourites in Australia especially for covering up embankments where it's difficult to get other things to grow and even harder to mow!
here are a few in our garden from last October,
cheers
fermi

really nice ones, fermi--lots of great colour! i suppose your problem is the opposite of ours--making sure you dont plant one that will take over the country or have they managed to keep all of those out? i know in some places there are some very invasive species..not a problem here...

[Lori S.]

Cohan, there are more differences between those 3 species than meet the eye from those photos... don't have time to post photos now, but D. congestum has orangey winter colour, D. nubigenum turns red, and D. basuticum stays green.  There are also subtle foliage differences.  I got the pink ones from Beaver Creek.  
D. cooperi is shown as having the same hardiness rating as D. congestum on a site I was looking at last night... hard to make any sense of such ratings, except by trying the plants in one's own conditions.

Fantastic array of plants, Fermi!

[Luc Gilgemyn]

My experience with Delosperma congestum is that it is as tough as old boots !  Here it has survived anything the weather has thrown at it over the last 15 odd years.
(minimum on just a couple of occasions to -10-12°C - usually with no snowcover - obviously nothing compared to your conditions in Canada)
Delosperma cooperi is more vulnarable ... I lost some plants last Winter  (min. -10°C) and others survived barely.  After having removed dead and shriveled leaves this Spring, they recovered admirably.  I see a number of seedlings have popped up also.
I always try to have some plants in different locations in the garden, because of the Summer colour they provide... and they're easily removed if they're in the wrong spot or get too big.
I wouldn't be without them. 

[cohan]

Cohan, there are more differences between those 3 species than meet the eye from those photos... don't have time to post photos now, but D. congestum has orangey winter colour, D. nubigenum turns red, and D. basuticum stays green.  There are also subtle foliage differences.  I got the pink ones from Beaver Creek. 
D. cooperi is shown as having the same hardiness rating as D. congestum on a site I was looking at last night... hard to make any sense of such ratings, except by trying the plants in one's own conditions.

if tags are correct, and they are just garden centre purchases, i have congestum and nubigenum..i agree there are foliage differences, but definitely subtle... i havent wintered them yet...
interesting on cooperi, i havent seen any suggestion of that much hardiness (except i vaguely recall a mention of a higher altitude collection)..i have heard of people losing it much farther south than us, but hard to weed out issues of wet from cold in some cases...

[Jean-Patrick AGIER]

Hi Everybody,
Extraordinary pics Fermi!!!
Lori: how bright are your Delosperma basuticum & aff congestum!
I'm growing lampranthus on a sheltered balcony. In winter we have between -5°C and -10°C depending on the locality ( but winters prove a little milder then before ). Delosperma Cooperi grows freely everywhere in Lyon  ( centre of FRANCE ) without protection and is rarely damaged by frosts. The Lampranthus ssp haven't been protected last winter and they survived. Delosperma Ashtonii & Delosperma congestum have proved hardy on the most exposed of my 2 balconies. But these plants are so easy to multiply either by seeds or by cuttings ( I always secure some cuttings in case of frost damage ). Some plants have a very showy silvery foliage ( Lampranthus ) which stay attactive all year.
I think all of you have documentation on Aizoaceae but there's one very interesting article on the Genus Delosperma in the September 2006 issue vol 74 of The Alpine Gardener ( members of the SRGC forgive me... )