Whether your Ice Plant or Mesembryanthemum is hardy depends entirely on the variety you bought. Ice plant (lat. Mesembryanthemum cristallinum) is at least partially frost hardy and you can overwinter it.
Some varieties of midday flowers, such as ice plant, tolerate a little frost
Ice plant tolerates frost down to about - 5 °C or - 10 °C. If heavy frost is expected, cover the ice plant well or overwinter it in a frost-free greenhouse or in the conservatory. Incidentally, the leaves of the iceberg are often used for a tasty salad. Steamed or boiled, they make a spinach-like vegetable.
How do I find out if my ice plant is hardy?
Since various plants are sold as ice plants, you should always pay attention to the Latin name of your flower. However, this is not easy with the Mesembryanthemum either, because the Mesembryanthemum criniflorum, for example, can also be found in stores as Dorotheanthus bellidiformis. Incidentally, it is considered an annual and is therefore not usually overwintered.
The best thing to do is ask when you buy your ice plant or read the care instructions. Ideally, the winter hardiness should also be described there. If in doubt, try overwintering in a frost-free room with limited watering and no fertilizer.
Can I take cuttings over the winter?
A popular method of “overwintering” annual plants is to take cuttings. This means that the old plant can be disposed of in autumn and the small young plants take up much less space. This is also possible with the ice plant.
Take the cuttings in late summer or fall. Put the shoots in the growing medium and keep them slightly moist. When waterlogged, the delicate roots rot easily, but it is better not to happen to that. You can put the young plants in the garden around the end of May. Sowing is possible from February on the windowsill, outdoors from around mid-May.
The essentials in brief:
- only conditionally hardy depending on the species
- frost-free overwintering recommended
- take cuttings from annual varieties
tips
If you have a particularly beautiful or valuable ice plant, it is best to overwinter the plant frost-free and possibly also take a few cuttings for propagation.