Livingstone daisy (mix)

Livingstone Daisy or Ice Plant - Dorotheanthus bellidiformis = Mesembryanthemum bellidiformis = Mesembryanthemum criniflorum.
A palette of vibrant colours! A magnificent floral carpet!
A branched, creeping annual plant up to 10 cm high. The leaves are obovate, up to 7.5 cm long — succulent (fleshy), densely covered with glandular hairs — papillae, glistening in the sun like crystal dewdrops. The flowers are numerous, 3-4 cm in diameter, borne on long peduncles, and are truly spectacular.
It blooms all summer long, from June to October. On cloudy days, the flowers shyly close, protecting their pollen, but in sunny weather, they flare up into a bright, sparkling carpet. In an open sandy location, this plant can successfully claim the title of the brightest and most cheerful annual.
1 g contains up to 3000 seeds, which retain their viability for 1-2 years.

Etymology: Named in honour of Dorothea, the mother of the renowned German botanist G. Schwantes. Combined with the Greek word "anthos" (flower), the name poetically translates as "Dorothea's Flower".
Location: Requires open, maximally sunny places (southern exposure). The plants are light-loving and reasonably cold-resistant. However, in wet and rainy summers they bloom poorly, failing to reveal their full potential.
Soil: Prefers moderately fertile, light, and well-drained soils. They absolutely do not tolerate stagnant water and suffer from excess moisture.
Propagation: By seeds, which are sown in March – April in seedling boxes. The optimal temperature for germination is +18°C. Seedlings appear 12-18 days after sowing.
The seedlings are very delicate and can quickly rot from waterlogging, so water them rarely and with extreme caution. Pricking out is done into individual pots. In April, the seedlings are moved to cold frames for hardening off. They are planted outdoors only after the spring frosts have passed, maintaining a distance of 15-20 cm between plants.
Direct sowing of seeds into open ground in May with subsequent thinning of seedlings is also permissible.
Use: The plant is extraordinarily attractive due to its numerous bright star-like flowers, which close in cloudy weather and at night, as if falling asleep. Planted in large groups (massifs), as well as in borders along paths.
Dorotheanthus is capable of covering sunny slopes and rock gardens like a variegated carpet. It is ideal for decorating areas where early spring bulbous and cormous plants (crocuses, botanical tulips, grape hyacinths, etc.) have already finished blooming, filling the resulting voids with a riot of colours. It is also successfully grown as a pot culture (3-4 specimens are placed in one container to create a lush bush).

Bot. syn.: Mesembryanthemum crinifolium L., Dorotheanthus acuminatus L.Bolus, Dorotheanthus bidouwensis L.Bolus, Dorotheanthus flos-solis (A.Berger) L.Bolus, Dorotheanthus hallii L.Bolus, Dorotheanthus littlewoodii L.Bolus, Dorotheanthus luteus N.E.Br., Dorotheanthus oculatus N.E.Br., Dorotheanthus martinii L.Bolus, Dorotheanthus muiri L.Bolus, Dorotheanthus stayneri L.Bolus