The Livingstone Daisy (Cleretum bellidiforme), also known as the Ice Plant, is a herbaceous, annual, and highly floriferous plant native to South Africa. It is found in the plains of Namaqualand to Stilbaai in the Western Cape, creating beautiful compositions with other native flowers in extensive natural colored carpets, which have become true tourist routes. This ground-covering plant features lanceolate, fleshy to succulent leaves, covered with special cells for water storage, giving them a unique shine and texture, resembling a thin layer of granular ice, earning nicknames like “ice plant.”
It is said that these leaves are edible and can replace spinach in recipes. It blooms in spring and summer, displaying numerous solitary inflorescences of the capitulum type, similar to daisies. The flowers close under adverse conditions, such as rain, at night, and on cloudy days, opening only in the sun. The bright and brilliant colors, in a gradient from the edge to the center of the inflorescences, create a truly luminous effect.
Words like “neon” and “almost iridescent” are commonly used to describe the colors. The resulting fruits have five valves that open to release seeds as they mature and dry. There are many varieties of Livingstone Daisy, with flowers in various colors like yellow, red, purple, pink, white, etc., but they are most commonly found in mixtures of colorful hybrids.
This versatile and easy-to-grow plant fits into any space. It’s ideal for creating long flowerbeds or ground covers in the sun. It fits perfectly into gaps in stairs, walls, or in rocky gardens, growing between crevices. In pots and window boxes, we can create beautiful cascading effects, with flowers spilling over the edge. For an even more special effect, we can mix Livingstone Daisy seeds with those of rose moss (Portulaca grandiflora) in forming flowerbeds and ground covers. The resulting effect is simply stunning, bringing a bit of the Namaqualand plains to your garden! It is also very attractive to butterflies.
It should be grown in full sun, in well-draining, fertile soil enriched with organic matter, and watered regularly. It tolerates poor, sandy, and rocky soils, as well as short periods of drought, but does not withstand waterlogging. It adapts to the saline soil of coastal regions.
Propagation is through seeds, sown in moist soil and covered with a thin layer of compost. They germinate in one to two weeks. Transplant the seedlings when they are about 10 cm (4 inches) tall or about five weeks after germination. Delay in transplanting should be avoided as this species is quite sensitive to root disturbance.
