5 Delosperma plants with orange or yellow flowers.

The Delosperma ‘Wheels of Wonder ‘Golden” is a variety in the ‘Wheels of Wonder’ series, notable for its large flowers twice the size of the species and for vigorous growth. Originating from Japan, it was selected at the Innovert 2014 competition at the Plant Show. In ‘Golden’, the bright flowers grouped in cymes are a light golden yellow, almost lemon-yellow, brilliant and vivid. It flowers from June to September, densely covering the small succulent foliage. It is hardy to about -8 to -10°C in exposed positions, in well-drained soil.

This Delosperma forms a creeping tuft up to 15 cm in height and can spread to about 1 m in good conditions, in full sun, in dry, poor and well-drained soil. Pair it with other perennial purslanes in the ‘Wheels of Wonder’ series, such as ‘Fire’, ‘Orange’ and ‘Limoncello’, in a contrasting and striking mix to form a colourful carpet on a slope.

The Delosperma deschampsii is a creeping botanical species, very low, which, unlike many other delospermas, tolerates frosts down to -15°C. It is highly valued for its ability to thrive in dry and lean soil, to carpet rockeries, borders and walls, and it therefore also has the advantage of being hardy. Its foliage, a very fresh green, takes on bronze-tinged tones in winter. This carpet of foliage, no more than 4 cm tall, spreads densely to 40–50 cm. It becomes covered in summer with flowers 3 cm in diameter, in a golden-yellow colour. They appear in June, pause in August and resume in September with renewed vigour. In mild climates, a few flowers may bloom from February, as early as February, or as late as November.

Plant the Delosperma deschampsii in very well-drained soil, on a dry, stony slope or a dry-stone wall, in a sunny rockery. Pair it with creeping succulents, grown mainly for their architectural foliage, such as Sedums and the houseleeks.

This perennial succulent reaches 10–15 cm in height and spreads to 50 cm, and up to 1 m in good conditions. Plant it at the feet of warm-coloured yarrow (Achillea), of sunflowers (Helianthus), with a few clumps of golden low grasses for dry soil such as Stipa.

Lampranthus aurantiacus Lampranthus aurantiacus ‘Yellow flowers’, also known as orange ice plant, is a cousin of Delospermas, similar in characteristics, habit and cultivation requirements. It bears magnificent sun-yellow flowers, daisylike and very striking. It flowers in spring for several weeks, from March–April to June depending on climate. The orange ice plant forms slightly creeping tufts and reaches about 35 cm in height and 50–60 cm in width, with blue-green foliage.

Not hardy, Lampranthus aurantiacus fears frost from -1 to -2°C. Grow it in a trough or hanging basket, bring indoors in winter; alone, it cascades prettily from tall containers. Otherwise cultivate it as an annual with Osteospermums, for example, another frost-tender South African plant.