Delosperma 'Jewel of Desert Garnet'

Delosperma 'Jewel of Desert Garnet': Garnet Red Sparkle on Scorching Gravel

This ice plant is a garnet ring that grew roots and moved to the hottest spot in your yard. Red petals, a pink inner ring and a yellow centre, all on a low succulent mat that laughs at dry soil. BIRTHSTONE OF THE DRIVEWAY STRIP.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Delosperma cooperi 'Jewel of Desert Garnet'
• Common Name: Hardy Ice Plant
• Series: Jewel of Desert
• Height: 10–15 cm (4–6 in)
• Spread: 25–30 cm (10–12 in)
• Flowers: Red to red-orange petals with a pink inner ring and a yellow centre, about 5 cm (2 in) across. They open in sunshine.
• Bloom Time: Late spring to fall (May to September)
• Foliage: Small, succulent green leaves forming a low, dense mat

Where to Plant: Use it where the soil is thin, hot and dry: rock gardens, gravel beds, the tops of retaining walls, between flagstones at the edge of a path, or spilling out of a trough or container. Planted in groups, it knits into a low carpet of colour.

Companion Plants: Let 'Garnet' carpet the front of a hot, dry bed in sandy or gravelly soil, with bold colour behind it. Agastache 'Mango Tango' adds mango-orange spikes at 41 to 46 cm from July to September. Centaurea dealbata brings rosy-pink cornflowers at 45 to 75 cm in June and July. Echinacea 'Mellow Limes' adds lime-green coneflowers at 80 cm from June to October. Andropogon 'Red October' rises behind at 150 to 180 cm, turning deep red in fall.

Plant Care: Plant in spring once frost has passed, in full sun and sandy or gritty soil that drains quickly. Water regularly for the first few weeks so the roots settle in, then water only during long dry spells. Skip the fertilizer. Rich soil makes it floppy and less flowery. Cold is rarely the problem. Wet is. Heavy clay, low spots and soggy winter soil are what usually kill ice plants in Canadian gardens, so amend with grit or plant on a slope or raised bed. Don't bury it under a thick blanket of leaves or mulch for winter. No cutting back is needed. In spring, trim off any pieces that died over winter. Pieces from the edge of the mat root easily if you want more plants.

History: Delosperma cooperi comes from South Africa, and the genus name joins the Greek words for visible and seed. 'Jewel of Desert Garnet' was bred by Japanese hybridizer Koichiro Nishikawa and selected in his trial garden in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, in November 2006.

Final Thoughts: Deer resistant, low maintenance and buzzing with bees. Plant it where the hose won't reach. BLING ON A BUDGET.