Pigface

Pigface 'Alba' (Mesembryanthemum 'Alba') is a succulent groundcover for the parts of a garden that defeat everything else: hot, sandy, salty, and watered only when it rains. It stays around 20cm high and spreads to about 1m, forming a thick mat of fleshy grey green leaves that opens into clean white flowers through the warm months. In a coastal or dry garden it covers ground without the input a lawn needs.

Why you'll love it

• It thrives on neglect. Drought, heat, salt spray and poor sandy soil are normal conditions, so this is the plant for the strip nobody wants to maintain.
• Fast cover from small plants. The stems root as they run, so a tube plant spreads to cover its metre quickly and fills gaps by itself.
• Clean white flowers over a long season. The blooms open in sun through spring and summer, sitting flat against the mat rather than above it.
• Erosion control that looks deliberate. The mat holds sand and light soil on a slope, which is why it turns up on dune fronts.
• Bees and butterflies use it. The open flower shape gives easy access, so a large planting is busy on a warm morning.

Where it works best

Coastal gardens. Salt tolerant and built for sand, so it suits an exposed seaside front where irrigation is limited. Plant 50cm apart for a spreading groundcover.

Retaining walls, slopes and rockeries. It spills over a wall edge and knits across a batter, holding loose material. On a slope, stagger the rows at the same spacing.

Mass planting in dry beds. Run it through gravel mulch in a hot street front. At 50cm centres you need roughly four plants per square metre.

Growing pigface in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun, all day. Shade makes it thin, stretched and shy of flowering. It suits subtropical, warm temperate, Mediterranean and arid to semi arid gardens, which covers coastal Queensland and New South Wales, Perth, Adelaide and dry inland districts. It takes light frost only.

Soil. Sandy and free draining is ideal, and poor soil is fine. Heavy clay is the one real limit, because the fleshy stems rot where water sits. On clay, mound the bed and mix through coarse sand and gravel.

Water and feed. Water weekly through the first summer to establish, then leave it alone. Established plants need water only in a long drought, and overwatering does more damage than drought ever will.

Pruning. Trim straggly runners at the edges once a year to keep the mat tight and stop it creeping into paths. If the centre of an old patch thins, cut it back hard and it regrows.

What to expect when it arrives

Pigface is grown and sold as tube stock, so your plant will be small, usually a few fleshy stems 10cm to 15cm long. Succulent groundcovers are best bought young, because a small plant runs quicker than a larger pot recovering from transplanting.

These plants travel well, since the leaves carry their own water, and some stem breakage is normal. Delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Expect visible spread within six weeks in warm weather and a closed cover through the second season. Every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Trailing plants for retaining walls and slopes
• Browse the full succulent range
• Compare plants for coastal and salt exposed gardens
• Plants suited to rockeries and gravel beds

Common questions

Is pigface an Australian native?

Not this one. The name pigface covers both an African group and the Australian Carpobrotus species, and this plant is listed under the African name. If you want the native, look for a Carpobrotus.

How far apart should I plant it?

Fifty centimetres apart, staggered. Each plant spreads to about 1m, so the mats overlap and close the ground within a season or two in warm weather.

Can I walk on it?

No, it is not a lawn substitute. The stems are brittle and crush underfoot, so use it in beds, on banks and over walls rather than on a path or play area.