succulent
Hardy ice plant
Delosperma cooperi
Preview: plant data is awaiting horticulturist review. A professional horticulturist hasn't reviewed our plant table yet. Lists still follow fixed rules for zone, sun, pets, deer and invasive status.
Hardy ice plant is a fast-growing evergreen succulent hardy in zones 6–10. It grows 3–6 in tall and 1–2 ft wide, so plant it 1 ft apart. Give it full sun and little water once established. It flowers purple and pink in June to September. In a FloraVista list it usually plays the edge role: a low plant that finishes the front edge. Deer may browse it when other food is short, and it is toxic to dogs and cats. Our rules leave it out of lists in the Southeast and Florida and the Gulf, where summer heat, humidity or mild winters hold it back even inside its zone range.
Facts from our plant table
- Botanical name
- Delosperma cooperi
- Plant type
- Succulent, evergreen
- Hardiness zones
- 6 to 10
- Sun
- Full sun (6+ hours)
- Water
- Low
- Soil
- Needs sharp drainage; wet winter soil kills it.
- Mature size
- 3–6 in tall × 1–2 ft wide
- Spacing
- 1 ft apart (centre to centre)
- Growth rate
- Fast
- Bloom
- Jun–Sep · purple and pink
- Roles in a bed
- Edge
- Styles
- low water, modern
- Deer resistance
- Medium: browsed when deer are hungry
- Pets
- Toxic to dogs and cats. No ASPCA entry for Delosperma (the ASPCA 'ice plant' entry is Lampranthus, non-toxic). Marked toxic until reviewed.
- Native to
- Not native to the US (or a garden hybrid)
- Pot size and price
- quart pot, typically $6–$10 (easy to find)
- Plant in
- Spring or Fall
- First-year watering
- Water deeply once or twice a week for the first 6-8 weeks, then every 10-14 days in dry spells through the first summer; after that only in long droughts.
- Pruning
- No pruning; cut out winter-damaged patches in spring.
Sources: Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder; state extension service fact sheets; ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant list; Rutgers NJAES deer resistance ratings; state extension service; Invasive Plant Atlas of the United States; state noxious weed lists; Cal-IPC inventory; US garden-centre and home-improvement retail listings (general knowledge, 2026 estimate). Not yet reviewed by a horticulturist.
Guides that include this plant
- Low-water plants for a full-sun bed in zone 9, Southwest (as a substitute)
- Low-water plants for a full-sun bed in zone 8, Southwest (as a substitute)
- Low-water plants for a full-sun bed in zone 9, California (as a substitute)
Good companions
The plants our list engine most often puts in the same bed as Hardy ice plant, across the sun, zone, pet, deer and style combinations it fits.
- Adam's needle yucca 'Color Guard'Yucca filamentosa 'Color Guard'succulent · zones 4–10
- Lily of the NileAgapanthus africanusperennial · zones 9–10
- Mexican bush sageSalvia leucanthaperennial · zones 8–11
- Upright rosemary 'Tuscan Blue'Salvia rosmarinus 'Tuscan Blue'shrub · zones 8–11
- Autumn sageSalvia greggiishrub · zones 7–11
- Dwarf bottlebrush 'Little John'Callistemon viminalis 'Little John'shrub · zones 9–10
If you can't find it
Substitutes our engine offers for Hardy ice plant: same role in the bed, passing the same rules.
How this page was made
This page was generated from this plant's record in FloraVista's plant table by fixed rules. The companions and substitutes come from the lists our rules engine composes. No named expert has reviewed this page.
Data status: the plant table is awaiting review by a horticulturist. Check each plant with a local nursery or extension office before you buy.
Sources
- Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder, state extension services and the USDA PLANTS database (zones, size, sun, water, bloom, native range)
- ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists (dog and cat toxicity)
- Rutgers NJAES and regional extension deer-resistance ratings
- State noxious-weed and invasive-plant lists and the Invasive Plant Atlas of the US
- Typical US garden-centre listings (pot size and price band)
Generated . How FloraVista chooses plants