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How to Grow Ice Plants UK | Regional Planting Calendar
Move through the SoilCommander growing library like a course: keep the navigation in place, open the next lesson, and build your garden plan step by step.
Timing is the decision that matters most in the UK: there are 4 separate regional sowing windows, ranging from mid May in Southern England to early June in Scotland.
Core growing advice on this page is checked against named horticultural sources — see References.
PFAF: sow under glass in spring, transplanting out only after the last frost -- taken here as a mid-May to early-June planting-out window for southern England.
Midlands - detail & sources
Planting-out window shifted about a week later than southern England for a typically later last frost. PFAF's warning that this plant "will be killed even by a light frost" is a genuine limiting factor to respect here.
Northern England - detail & sources
Planting-out window shifted about two weeks later than southern England for Northern England's later last frost date -- the same zero-frost-tolerance caveat applies.
Scotland - detail & sources
Planting-out window shifted about three weeks later than southern England for Scotland's later, cooler spring. Honest caveat: a plant killed outright by a light frost gives Scottish gardeners a genuinely short outdoor season here.
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.
Lifecycle
PFAF: a true perennial in its native range, but "not very hardy in Britain and will be killed even by a light frost" -- grown here as a half-hardy annual, sown under glass and set out after the last frost.
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.
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.
PFAF: tolerates light, medium or heavy soils and genuinely saline conditions -- confirmed independently by a peer-reviewed trial finding irrigation up to 35 dS/m (roughly seawater strength) had no adverse effect on biomass.
The tiny, glistening, water-filled bladder cells covering the leaves and stems are what give this plant its common name -- they catch the light like scattered ice crystals.
Habitat: maritime sands and salt marshes, South Africa; naturalised southern Europe. Hardiness: USDA zones 8-11, UK hardiness zone 9 -- "not very hardy in Britain and will be killed even by a light frost," grown as a half-hardy annual. 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.
Controlled cultivation trial (soilless system, LED lighting, growth chambers) comparing wild (Almeria, Spain, coastal) and cultivated ice plant. Salinity: three nutrient-solution electrical conductivity levels tested (3.0, 4.0, 6.0 dS/m); separately reports that irrigation solutions of up to 35 dS/m had no adverse effect on biomass production, demonstrating strong halophyte tolerance. Temperature: plants grown at a constant 20-22C. Light: LED lamp type affected biomass, with horticultural-spectrum lamps (NS1, AP67 Valoya) outperforming standard white LED. Yield: fresh plant mass 124-138g per plant depending on treatment, higher under higher salinity. Growing window: cultivation ran between May and July 2022 (about 2-3 months). Edible use: leaves described as having a "crispy, salty, and slightly sour flavor," eaten raw in salads, used to season seafood, or cooked. No pest or disease information given (a controlled-environment study, not an open-field/garden account).
2 independent sources are cited for this crop. Where they disagree - soil pH is the clearest case - every figure is preserved rather than averaged into false precision.
Frequently Asked Questions
When should I sow ice plants in the UK?
In Southern England, from mid May. In Scotland, wait until early June. Treat these as a guide rather than a fixed date — the governing rule is to sow only once frost risk has passed and temperatures are reliably warm enough.
When do I sow ice plants?
Sow mid May to early July.
What problems affect ice plants?
Our data links 2 diseases to this crop. See the sections above for each one and how to manage it.
Plan next season before the problems start
Most of the advice on this page comes down to timing and spacing — sowing at the right moment, rotating beds, and giving plants enough airflow. The UK Garden Planner lays your plot out month by month so those decisions are already made before the season starts.
UK vegetable growing guides · Checked against RHS & Met Office guidance
Every SoilCommander guide is written and maintained by our editorial team for real UK growing conditions, and reviewed against Royal Horticultural Society growing advice and Met Office climate data before publication.
Sketch your exact plot shape, pick your UK crops, and get a spacing-accurate bed layout with companion pairings, a rotation plan and month-by-month sowing dates — every fact sourced from RHS and Garden Organic.
