What´s my name and can take extreme heat and drought?

19 years ago

WhatÂ´s the name of this ground cover? I see this very often in south California. Will this endure extreme heat and drought once stablished? How often is this irrigated in a well drained soil (clay loam) but at 44 C?

How long does it take to get stablish? Is this fast growing?

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:849197}}

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Comments (4)

patusho25
Original Author
19 years ago
Seems to be the ice plant, but reading about it, says it releases all the salt it eats around their roots so no other plants can develop.

Do this applies altough my soil is not very salty, and will fruit trees develop in the same area after I uproot this plant because of salt acummulation?
Ina Plassa_travis
19 years ago
:) I don't know what it's proper name is... but everyone in the Bay area calls it Ice Plant, and it's one of the ultimate groundcovers for the environment.

and I've seen it go three months with nothing better than pre-dawn fog for an irrigation.

I actually got plugs from right off the highway, and it rooted at nearly every division, then sent off new branches. it covers ground quickly, and then gets denser with every rainy season.

I wouldn't start it this late in the season unless I could irrigate it some through the summer, it seemed to do best planted around september, watered until the rains broke- and then it took care of its self just fine.

the flowers are almost an afterthough, once you've got it going, but they're right pretty at the end of winter.
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Skybird - z5, Denver, Colorado
19 years ago
Hi Patusho,

In Colorado we call it California Ice Plant, and I always wondered what the botanical name was, so I just looked it up--it's Carpobrotus edulis. Here's a link with more information about it. It is definitely good for hot dry places, though I don't think it can go without any watering at all. When I was commuting to SFO for a few years, I decided I wanted to try some in Denver, so I snipped a few pieces off in a parking lot, brought them home with me, let them dry for a couple days, and stuck them into soil where they rooted beautifully. They're nowhere near hardy enough to grow outside here, and they eventually got too big and awkward for a houseplant, so there gone now, but it was fun to experiment with them. I'm not aware of any problem growing other plants near it, but check out the link to learn more.

Happy gardening,
Skybird

Here is a link that might be useful: California Ice Plant Information
patusho25
Original Author
19 years ago
Thank you guys for your comments.

chinacat: My rainy season begins in about two months. I took a 5" pice and put it in a potting mix and two days later when I transplanted into the ground it already had some roots already growing!

I just want it also temporarly to cover a space wich gets lots of weeds, and perhaps this will help me out against those plants.

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What´s my name and can take extreme heat and drought?

Comments (4)

patusho25
Original Author

Ina Plassa_travis

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What´s my name and can take extreme heat and drought?

Comments (4)

patusho25Original Author

Ina Plassa_travis

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Skybird - z5, Denver, Colorado

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patusho25
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