How far did you press them into the soil? Apparently Ice Plant is supposed to be barely covered. I find that with some of the annuals I started three weeks ago (that had similar instructions) I have only had about a 50% germination success rate. It's probably because I pressed them in too far or by moistening the surface with my fine mist spray bottle every other day they've sunk too far into the soil.

I did what you did basically.. I just pressed them into the soil, most if not all in one seed starting tray are still visible.

You could still be on schedule, these take as much as 4-5 weeks often to germinate. Does your starting tray have a cover? If not and you are having trouble keeping the surface sown small seeds moist, stretch a piece of saran wrap across the top of your tray, remove at the very first sign of germination.

Delosperma - 70-72F on surface as light may be beneficial to germination. Seeds will germinate slowly and erratically in 25-35 days.

Thanks. I do hope you are right and I am just being impatient. I've tried to do a little reasearch but could never comeup with how many days it took.. one site said 10 - 40 days. Yes my tray does have a cover.. its not a great cover as things in side do dry out quickly.

You say light "may be" benificial. is it a must have?

Thanks again :)

Thanks. I do hope you are right and I am just being impatient. I've tried to do a little reasearch but could never comeup with how many days it took.. one site said 10 - 40 days. Yes my tray does have a cover.. its not a great cover as things in side do dry out quickly.

You say light "may be" benificial. is it a must have?

Thanks again :)

I'm curious....where did you buy the seeds? Everything in my knowlege shows that this specific variety is propagated by division, not seed, so I'm wondering what your seed source was. This mat be the source of your problems.....

oh no.. I hope thats not true.. I bought them off ebay. :/

Well....it's true. Just means someone collected seed from the plant - doesn't mean they will germinate or be true to type if they do. I ONLY see plants offered for sale, not seeds.

I get about 90% success by using a little trick:

Not sure where most people obtain this stuff, but I buy garden-grade vermiculite at our local feed store. Most people use it by incorporating it right into their soil mixtures.

I use an old parsley spice container with big holes (or perhaps an old parmesan cheese shaker would work). I drop the seed on the soil, and DON'T press in. Instead, I sprinkle vermiculite in a thin layer over the seeds. Then water very gently so as to disrupt the surface as little as possible. The vermiculite holds moisture right up next to the tiny seed while still allowing light in. It seems like such an unlikely simple solution...but I promise that it has helped survival rate of my baby sprouts so much!

My ice plant seeds seem to like high heat to germinate. About 75 to 80 degrees in 10-14 days. They grow surprisingly fast, and transplant very easily.

Another trick I employ in my efforts trying to grow tiny seeds: instead of watering with a regular pitcher I use a picnic ketchup bottle. It works perfect for squeezing the water onto the seedbed and/or tiny sprouts without dislodging them until they are big enough to handle the flow from the water pitcher.

Thanks for the thread, trying iceplant from seed for the first time this year. Looks like I'll have to give mine some supplemental heat to get started. I like to toss them in the oven with just the light on. It puts off a surprising amount of heat. I just have to remind the other half not to cook my seeds!

I planted seeds also and I'm still waiting. It's about 3 weeks. What is going on? I ordered from Eden Brothers seeds, their seeds are fantastic. What is up?

There are no "Fire Spinner" ice plant (Delosperma) seeds. All plants are propagated vegetatively.

Rhizo,

I'm sure glad you chimed in. I was just looking up "Fire Spinner" seeds. So, what on earth are they selling if it is propagated vegetatitively?

The OP said they bought the seeds from someone on EBay... They probably WERE seeds collected from a Firespinner plant.... The seeds aren't viable. Just because a plant produces seeds doesn't mean they are true or viable.

Scott, if you read through the thread you will see that it isn't possible to buy genuine seeds of this cultivar which will produce plants like the parents. People on ebay often sell seed under the name of the hybrid they collected the seed from. But they are either conning buyers or don't understand that the seeds will not breed true. You might get something similar but you won't get Fire Spinner. If you want exactly this plant you'll need to purchase plants.

ice plants are usually fairly easy to grow they need light to germinate, like most flower seeds, i mist them in with water and hydrogen peroxide. i put the lights down 3 inches from the flats and they will germinate. they like heat, they are a succulent. the above pictured plants i think are patented, and i stay away from all patented plants bc the seeds won't produce the same plants, they may however produce one of the original plants it produced, and most of them come from the original lavender/fuchsia colored ice plants. its worth a shot.

My seed packet says seeds need darkness to germinate. i have always germinated mine this way. I scatter the seeds, and cover the container. I keep checking until I see they have sprouted and then uncover in full light. Now, I am reading that they need light to germinate, but I have always done this and grown quite a few ice plants. So, at this point, I'm a little confused.