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Delosperma Cooperi Hardy Ice Plant Seeds
Packet of 10+ tiny freshly harvested seeds of this hardy, and incredibly popular, succulent species.
Sometimes called by its synonym Mesembryanthemum cooperi, it is also commonly called Iceplant, Hardy Iceplant, Trailing Iceplant or Pink Carpet.
It originates from the Free State of South Africa, and has made its way into cultivation all around the world. Called Hardy Iceplant as unlike most of its relative this fella can handle temperatures all the way down to -29 °C (-20 °F). Still handles the 40°C (104 °F) summer we get here without any dramas.
It is easy to grow from seeds.
The best way is just using fine cactus soil or a nice sandy well draining loam in a takeaway container, or clear lunch box. What you do is sieve the soil so there are no big chunks. Sprinkle the tiny little seeds on top in the middle, give it a quick squirt with water and put the lid on. Leave it in a warm sheltered position out of direct sunlight.
As the seedlings get their 4th set of leaves plant them out.
Alternatively you can use small pots of trays sitting in a little water.
Add the seeds to the surface of the soil, water gently then place a clear glass, jar or just half a soft drink bottle over the top to trap humidity. This little dome vastly improves germination rates and for me it is ~0-30% without the dome, ~50-80% with the dome.
Once established it is super hardy, infact it has become a bit weedy especially in some parts of the USA where it was mass planted by councils for mile after mile along the highways. Some of those plants have escaped and spread from the verges into the surrounding paddocks, so keep that in mind.
I don’t really consider it weedy as it is super easy to control for us here. Where you are may be different.
Not only is this hardy, super cold, hot, and drought tolerant plant attractive, but it also has an interesting history in the recent past.
Said by some folks to be psychoactive it has regularly been sold as an easier to grow and cheaper alternative to Kanna.
Me, I just grow it for the pretty flowers, but here is some interesting info I found on the internet.>>>
“Several species have been used in herbal and traditional medicines, and recent studies show that they contain fairly high concentrations of a mildly hallucinogenic drug (dimethyltryptamine).
Delosperma cooperi ~ Our initial early spring 1994 assay showed no alkaloid.
May and summer 1995 both showed a nice 5-MeO-DMT band (we ran the May sample twice). Plants purchased via mail order had a much darker 5-MeODMT band, in the May assay, than those locally obtained at a hardware store. Both showed the presence of 5-MeODMT. Assays from September and December 1994 had shown the presence of DMT. Our early November 1995 tlc of these plants showed both DMT and 5-MeO-DMT present. Assays were done using both commercial plants and plants we grew from seed. Commercial plant material tested by Sasha showed no DMT in GC-MS.”
The original reports that this species is psychoactive may have been cross contamination, a simple case of mis-identification with relatives like Delosperma bosseranum, or the plants may have even been hybrids with this or other unknown species.
Who knows?
The general consensus these days is that this particular species has high amounts of oxalic acid (making ingestion as a food or whatever not really a good idea) and not much of anything else.
Others will dispute this I am sure, especially those that make a buck from selling it…
So yeah, pretty pink flowered ornamental plant folks.
Like most other succulents, looking at only, but to that end it is a beauty!
Grown by me and the Mrs organically, no chems, no nasties, no problems!!!
