How to Grow Ice Plants

At a Glance

Quick Facts

Factor	Value
Drainage	Prefers well-drained soil (PFAF); tolerates light/sandy, medium/loamy or heavy/clay soils, mildly acid to mildly alkaline, and genuinely saline conditions -- PMC: irrigation up to 35 dS/m (roughly seawater salinity) showed no adverse effect on biomass.
Edible parts	leaves, stems

Growth Stages

Stage	BBCH	Notes
Sowing under glass	0	PFAF: sow in spring under glass, only just covering the seed. Seedlings are prone to damping off, so avoid overwatering and keep them in a very sunny, well-ventilated position.
Pricking out and transplanting	2	PFAF: prick out seedlings into individual pots once large enough to handle, and do not plant out until all risk of frost has passed -- the plant "will be killed even by a light frost."
Establishment and growth	3	PFAF: grow on in full sun -- "cannot grow in the shade" -- in well-drained soil; genuinely tolerant of poor and even saline ground once established. PMC: independently confirms strong salt tolerance, with irrigation up to 35 dS/m (roughly seawater strength) showing no adverse effect on biomass.
Harvest	8	PFAF: pick the thick, succulent leaves and stems through summer as needed, eaten raw or cooked as a spinach substitute. First frost ends the season for this half-hardy annual.

Harvest & Storage

When to pick: PFAF: pick leaves and stems as needed once plants are established and growing strongly through summer -- they are thick and succulent with a slightly salty tang, best used while young and crisp.

Storage

Best eaten fresh, as for other tender succulent salad leaves; PFAF also notes the leaves can be pickled.

Diseases

Damping-off (seedling collapse)

Rhizoctonia solani

Damping-off (seedling collapse at soil line); Wilting with chlorotic, dropping leaves

PFAF: young ice plant seedlings are prone to damping off -- avoid overwatering and keep seedlings in a sunny, well-ventilated position.

Root rot (unspecified)

PFAF: young plants are also prone to root rot; the pathogen is not specified, so kept as a generic entry rather than a fabricated species.

Sources

1. Plants For A Future (PFAF) - Mesembryanthemum crystallinum

   Habitat: maritime sands and salt marshes, South Africa; naturalised southern Europe. Soil: light/sandy, medium/loamy or heavy/clay, prefers well-drained, tolerates mildly acid to mildly alkaline and saline soils. Sun: full sun only, "cannot grow in the shade." Moisture: prefers dry or moist soil. Propagation: sow spring under glass, only just covering the seed; prick out into individual pots; transplant outdoors after the last frost; seedlings prone to damping off, avoid overwatering, keep in a very sunny, well-ventilated position. Size: perennial in native range, growing to 0.1m height by 0.5m spread. Edible use: leaves and stems eaten raw or cooked as a spinach substitute, thick and succulent with a slightly salty tang; also pickled or used as a garnish; fruit and seed also used. Medicinal use: demulcent and diuretic, used for inflammation of pulmonary and genito-urinary mucous membranes. Pests/diseases: young plants prone to root rot and damping off.

These source is specific to this region. The full list of 2 sources behind this guide (Plants For A Future (PFAF), PMC (peer-reviewed journal, hosted by NCBI/National Library of Medicine)) is in the references of our UK guide to ice plants; they describe the plant itself, which is the same wherever it grows.