Mesembryanthemum crystallinum
Ice plant
Common names: Crystal ice plant, Midday flower
At a glance
- Light
- Full sun
- Spacing
- 30 cm, rows 40 cm
- Lifespan
- Annual
- Sowing
- Apr–May
- Harvest
- Jun–Sep
- Hardiness
- Cold damage below 2 °C
- Water need
- Low
Photo: Yummifruitbat · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source
This description was machine-translated.
Description
Ice plant (Mesembryanthemum crystallinum) is a succulent leafy vegetable native to South Africa. Its leaves are covered with tiny, glittering bubble cells that store water, giving the plant a dew‑like sheen. The flavor is salty‑fresh, reminiscent of a mix of spinach and lamb's lettuce. Botanically, it belongs to the family Aizoaceae and is closely related to other succulents. The species is highly tolerant of heat and drought, making it well suited for sunny, sandy containers where other leafy greens may wilt quickly.
Care instructions
Sow the plant from mid‑May (week 20) directly into the garden or bring it out in April onto a bright windowsill. Provide full sun and a lean, well‑draining soil; the plant does not tolerate wet or stagnant soil. Water sparingly, as ice plant copes well with long dry periods and excessive moisture reduces the formation of its characteristic bubble cells. Harvest leaves and shoot tips continuously from June through September; regular picking encourages bushy growth. Because the plant stores salt from the soil, a light compost addition at planting is usually sufficient.
The care notes were machine-translated from German.
Garden year
SowingApr–May
HarvestJun–Sep
Germination
- Soil temperature
- from 12 °C, ideally 20 °C
- Days to sprout
- 7 to 14 days
- Light
- Needs light to sprout
- Sowing depth
- Press in, don't cover
- How to start
- Start indoors, then plant out
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
well-drained, sandy, lean, dry
Ice plant likes it lean and free-draining, preferably sandy to stony soil that dries quickly. The plant cannot tolerate waterlogging at all, as the roots then rot quickly. A sunny spot with lean compost, also gladly in containers with a proportion of sand or gravel, brings out the finest leaf colour.
Feeding
Light feeder
Ice plant needs practically no feeding; too many nutrients make the leaves soft and tasteless. If the soil is not enough at the start, a thin layer of mature compost at planting suffices. After that, it is best to simply leave the plant to grow in peace.
Overwintering
Ice plant is frost-tender and is grown here as an annual. As soon as the first cool nights come in autumn, the harvest season is over and the plant is cleared away. Overwintering outdoors is not possible; if you like, raise fresh young plants in late summer as a windowsill crop.
Propagation
Methods
- From seed
- Cuttings
The easiest way is to start ice plant from seed, from March on the windowsill in plenty of light and warmth of around 20 degrees. Press the fine seeds down only lightly; they are light germinators and need no soil on top. After the last frosts, from mid-May · week 20, the young plants go outdoors. Alternatively, tip cuttings can be taken from strong shoots, which quickly form new roots in moist sand.
For your garden
Grow Ice plant yourself
Gartenkern tells you when frost is coming, when to sow and when to harvest, for your location.
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