delosperma & aizoaceae

[Martin Tversted]

Many of the schrubby species are unfortunately not very hardy. In my experience D lydenburgense dies at -14C or below.

Heres another hardy low form from Naudes Nek,

[Martin Tversted]

Delosperma ´Ruby Star´, have survived -17C in the unheated greenhouse where its a ground cover, but these really low temps have not done it any good and its still not flowering this year.

[Jiri]

Martin your  ruby star is very similar to Delosperma vinaceum (cv. 'Nelson Mandela') from http://www.fgas-sukkulenten.de/index.php?view=detail&id=443&option=com_joomgallery&Itemid=85&lang=de

[Maggi Young]

Welcome Jiri, good to have another enthusiast for succulents in the forum. 

[iann]

I was going to ask if 'Ruby Star' was derived from D. vinaceum.  This is by far my thirstiest Delosperma and by far the most ugly in winter.  If I water it it dies, if I don't water it it just sheds leaves and looks horrible.

-14C is usually hardy enough for me   This one survived the last two exceptional winters to about -15C, but another very nice form of D. lydenbergense did not.

[Lesley Cox]

Whereas in yellow-flowered nuggetoid Delosperma the 5 or 6 nectaries are broadly separated

in 'White Nugget' the nectaries are almost connate and often forming a lophomorphic ring

Receptaculum structure is apparently different too. Therefore I suggest the hybrid origin of
'White Nugget' one parent being not a Delosperma.

I thought these were little custard pies, maybe lime flavoured.

[Martin Tversted]

Ruby Star is very similar but not identical to Nelson Mandela.

Martin

[Martin Tversted]

Delosperma carterae


This one I have had in cultivation around 10 years. Its hardy to at least -23C. But needs dry winters. It can take more drought and heat than many other Delos and has taproots and therefore are very sensitive towards winter rain.

I ones produced a very pale pink of it that I named `Pale Ale´but I lost it before I could distribute it.

Martin

[zephirine]

First attempt at growing plants of this genus this spring. So far, so good! 
But I know about nothing about them...except that they like dry and sunny places.
Should I add some grit between the soil and the leaves?
Could you tell me a little more about these two? (Maybe I didn't start with the easiest ones, considering my zone...)
The tiny pink flowers belong to D. 'Beaufort West', and the one flowerless, but with larger "leaves", is D. 'Red Mountain'...
Thanks in advance for your tips!

[iann]

First attempt at growing plants of this genus this spring. So far, so good! 
But I know about nothing about them...except that they like dry and sunny places.
Should I add some grit between the soil and the leaves?
Could you tell me a little more about these two? (Maybe I didn't start with the easiest ones, considering my zone...)
The tiny pink flowers belong to D. 'Beaufort West', and the one flowerless, but with larger "leaves", is D. 'Red Mountain'...
Thanks in advance for your tips!

They don't really like dry sunny places.  They are mostly alpines   That's why they are so hardy.  In well-drained soil in summer, you can pour on as much water as you like.  In fact in the south of France they will probably grow best in spring rather than the hottest part of summer, and may really fatten up in autumn.  In winter they will be most cold hardy when dry, but will survive in well drained soil with rain or snow.  Don't be tempted to water in winter even though they sometimes look quite bedraggled.  A reasonably sunny spot is important because the flowers only open with sun and because they will become impossibly straggly in the shade.

You have two vigorous free-flowering Delospermas.  Delosperma 'Red Mountain' is a cultivar of D. dyeri.  I think it is actually a hybrid, because the species has regular pink flowers and this cultivar has flowers that are a classic hybrid colour.  Delosperma Beaufort West is not a cultivar. it is an unnamed collection from near Beaufort West in South Africa with unusually pale pink flowers for a Delosperma.  Both are very hardy and should do fine in your area with sufficient drainage.  Water regularly in their first summer, but then they should establish deep roots and will seem to be very drought resistant.  Probably established plants in the ground won't need any supplemental water.  In pots they are very thirsty for a succulent and will need regular water.

[Great Moravian]

Delosperma 'Red Mountain' is a cultivar of D. dyeri.  I think it is actually a hybrid, because the species has regular pink flowers and this cultivar has flowers that are a classic hybrid colour.

However, Dyer wrote in his letter 18 November 1926
Flowers red with light purple tipped segments
about the typus.
So the binomial Delosperma dyeri clearly
belongs to the red-flowered variant whether or
not it is of hybrid origin.
Schröder published several information in
http://www.fgas-sukkulenten.de/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=38&Itemid=&lang=de
which is freely available on the web.

[fleurbleue]

Everybody (except dear rock gardeners  ) always thinks rock plants love sun and dry ground         

[zephirine]

Thank you Iann and Josef. You're right, I should have written "drained and sunny places" instead!
And these are pretty rare in my garden. As for being "alpines", they will have to be content with a "pre-alpine" climate here (the Mont-Blanc looks nearly at hand on clear days, from my window...). Thank you for the link too, it will also help practise my german, lol!

[iann]

Good article!  I have some of those Mesa Garden plants with the pink flowers, although mine have a more obvious white eye than in the photos.

So now I've cross-pollinated two pink flowered D. dyeri.  With a little luck I'll get some plants that suggest D. dyyeri and some that suggest the other parent.  Probably D. cooperi 

[Great Moravian]

I'm late to this thread but must go through and read it in detail.  Thought I'd jump in and show a couple photos of a new Delosperma species... it has a tentative name, but until it is published and introduced I'll just call it Delosperma sp.  Panayoti Kelaidis gave me permission to post a couple of his photos, so here they are (you may need sunglasses ).  I'm trialing the plant here in northern New England, can't wait to see some of those brilliant silky flowers.

McMark,
A year ago you informed us about the new plant. Perhaps you can inform us about the results of the trial now.
In particular, how hardy the plant is. Further, whether or not the plant produces seeds.
If so, how uniform the progeny is.