Native Plants
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Ask Mr. Smarty Plants
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Tuesday - May 06, 2008
From: Stafford, VA
Region: Mid-Atlantic
Topic: Non-Natives, Groundcovers, Cacti and Succulents
Title: Information about ice plant (Carpobrotus edulis)
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
I recently planted some Carpobrotus edulis, Ice plant, and wanted to know if I can mulch or put stones around the entire garden and plants. They are a ground cover plant.ANSWER:
Our focus and expertise at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is with plants native to North America. Unfortunately, Carpobrotus edulis (ice plant or hottentot fig) is a non-native introduced species and is on the California Invasive Plant Council's Weeds of California list. This South African native spreads rapidly and is an ecological threat in the California's climate. Virginia's climate will not be as welcoming to the ice plant as California's is, but you should take precautions to see that it doesn't spread from your garden areas. Putting mulch around it and stones with it probably won't hurt it, but we would encourage you to consider replacing it with a native groundcover such as Glandularia canadensis (rose mock vervain)
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