Aptenia cordifolia Variegata

The Aptenia cordifolia Variegata, also known as Ice Plant or Heartleaf Aptenia, is a perennial with small variegated succulent leaves, heart-shaped, green, edged with cream-white. It is a South African plant that stands out for its beautiful foliage and the unique brilliance of its small carmine pink daisies, whose shiny petals play with the light.  Its evergreen, fleshy, glossy leaves are elegant and bright. Aptenia cordifolia Variegata loves the sun, seaside, and poor soils and can tolerate very dry summers. It occasionally tolerates frost of about -5°C (23°F), but it is a tender plant to be grown in pots or as an annual in many regions.

The Aptenia cordifolia Variegata belongs to the family of Aizoaceae. This family is made up of a large number of perennial succulent plants native to South Africa, East Africa, and Madagascar, ideally suited to hot and dry climates and coastal conditions. They settle between stones, rocks, or on dry slopes as long as they find some substrate. For areas prone to frost, place Aptenia cordifolia Variegata in a pot or container to bring indoors in winter. Prostrate and creeping, it reaches up to 1 metre (3 feet) in spread and about 10 cm (4in) in height. The plant has cylindrical, greyish-green, highly branched stems; its evergreen, fleshy, broad, oval leaves, 2 to 3 cm (1in) long, are heart-shaped, hence its name. In this variegated form, they are green with cream-white margins. In summer and autumn, solitary flowers, 1 to 2 cm (1in) in diameter, develop in the shape of daisies, with very thin and elongated petals, carmine-pink in colour, around a small yellow centre. In mild climates, flowering can extend beyond.

If you like Delosperma, you will be charmed by Aptenia cordifolia Variegata. It thrives in coastal gardens alongside Sedums, Sempervivums, and other small perennials such as South African daisies (Felicia, Osteospermum, Dimorphoteca). In pots or in the ground, plant several species of these small South African succulents to create a dazzling multicoloured carpet that is easy to maintain for a very long period.