Delosperma floribundum

Submitted by Kelaidis on Wed, 05/19/2010 - 00:01

I shall not ever forget finding this on the open veldt not far from Springfontein as my friend from Kirstenbosch and I drove towards the Drakensberg in the Orange Free State: January 1994 it was, late in the afternoon and we began seeing incredibly irridescent patches of pink in the late afternoon light. I collected a pinch of seed off a precocious pod, and germinated it the following May in Denver. So quickly and easily does this grow that it was fast tracked into the Plant Select introduction program (check it http://www.plantselect.org/plant_details.php?comment=no&plant_number=23) in a breathless 4 years! The fastest any plant I know has gone from the wild to nursery production across the United States! Because it is almost shrubby, it does not make as good a groundcover as other delospermas, but has its charm. I took this picture a week or so ago where it was blooming especially early due to having germinated in a crevice of a wall at Denver Botanic Gardens, which gives a better picture of its mien.

Comments


Submitted by Weiser on Wed, 05/19/2010 - 12:26

Very nice! I like the shrubby look hanging on the wall. I will be on the look out for it, I have a few crevices that need some greenery.   


Submitted by Martin Tversted on Tue, 03/29/2011 - 12:15

This one is not reliable in a danish climate. I have kept it for some years near the southern wall of the house where the soil is most dry in winter, even drakensberg Pelargoniums did well there, but I think I need to reestablish it in large pots and store them inside the unheated greenhouse.