Delosperma congestum
A tight, cushion-forming ice plant from the high grasslands and rock sheets of Lesotho and the eastern Free State, recorded here at about 1,800–2,100 m. It grows fast through a wet, warm summer and sits through a dry winter with frequent hard frost, so it wants full sun, very sharp drainage and a dry, cold rest.
Where it grows wild
Open, rocky high-altitude grassland where it forms low mats in shallow soil over basalt or sandstone pavement. There is no shade from trees; the plant is fully exposed. Built from the three wild records and what is known of high-Drakensberg Delosperma.
The two climate sites sit at about 1,830 and 2,130 m; the wild records carry no elevation, but the region suggests roughly 1,800–2,500 m.
🔒 Growing it like that
The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:
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Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, used under its CC BY-SA 3.0 licence, unmodified.