Characteristics
| Hardiness zone | 4b |
|---|---|
| Flower color | red |
| Foliage type | evergreen |
| Plant form | spreading |
| Mature height | 2 inches |
| Spread | 18 inches |
| Light requirements | full sun |
| Moisture requirements | dry to average |
| Plant origin | hybrid |
Fire Spinner Ice Plant
Botanical name: Delosperma ‘Fire Spinner’
Low growing carpet-like, succulent, native to South Africa but amazingly hardy in North America; dazzling orange-red daisy-like flowers with a bright purple ring; perfect for xeriscapes, rock gardens, screes and sandy soils.
Ornamental Features
Fire Spinner Ice Plant features showy red daisy flowers with orange overtones, gold eyes and a purple ring rising above the foliage from early summer to mid fall. Its attractive small succulent narrow leaves are grayish green in color. As an added bonus, the foliage turns a gorgeous burgundy in the fall. The fruit is not ornamentally significant.
Landscape Attributes
Fire Spinner Ice Plant is an herbaceous evergreen perennial with a ground-hugging habit of growth. Its relatively fine texture sets it apart from other garden plants with less refined foliage.
This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and is best cleaned up in early spring before it resumes active growth for the season. It is a good choice for attracting bees and butterflies to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.
Fire Spinner Ice Plant is recommended for the following landscape applications;
Mass Planting, Rock/Alpine Gardens, Border Edging, General Garden Use, Container Planting
Planting and Growing
Fire Spinner Ice Plant will grow to be only 2 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 18 inches. Its foliage tends to remain low and dense right to the ground. It grows at a fast rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 5 years.
This plant should only be grown in full sunlight. It prefers dry to average moisture levels with very well-drained soil, and will often die in standing water. It is considered to be drought-tolerant, and thus makes an ideal choice for a low-water garden or xeriscape application. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in sandy soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid. It can be propagated by cuttings; however, as a cultivated variety, be aware that it may be subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions on propagation.
Fire Spinner Ice Plant is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. Because of its spreading habit of growth, it is ideally suited for use as a 'spiller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the edges where it can spill gracefully over the pot. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.
