I’m always on the lookout for small groundcovers suitable for planting along the edge of the sidewalk. In January, I found myself at Morningsun Herb Farm, a fantastic small nursery about 25 minutes from here. I was thrilled to find a new line of delospermas called Jewel of Desert. I’d tried several delospermas before, including the spectacular Wheels of Wonder line, but they didn’t last longer than a season or two. I still don’t know why, but I’ve heard that the Wheels of Wonder delospermas are short-lived and/or need cold winters to keep going.
The Jewel of Desert line was developed by the same breeder as Wheels of Wonder, Koichiro Nishikawa. His story is as interesting as his plants: He started breeding delospermas in Japan in 1996, but he was frustrated by the short growing season. In 2006, he moved to Ecuador with his family where the mild climate makes it possible to grow delospermas all year. Now his plants are available all over the world. In the US, they are distributed by Concept Plants.
What makes the Jewel of Desert line different from other delospermas is their compact growth and small leaves (they make a very dense, low-growing mat), brightly colored flowers, extended blooming period (from spring to fall), and impressive cold hardiness (down to zone 5). Supposedly they also tolerate shade better than other delospermas that will only flower in full sun.
There are 11 different cultivars in the Jewel of Desert line. Unsurprisingly, they’re named after precious stones: Amethyst, Candystone, Garnet, Grenade, Moonstone, Opal, Peridot, Rosequartz, Ruby, Sunstone, and Topaz. Here’s an image from the Jewel of Desert website:
To show you how small the flowers are (and how dense the leaves), here are a U.S. penny and a Canadian quarter for reference:
I have five of the 11 cultivars: Peridot (yellow), Topaz (orange), Rosequartz (pink), Amethyst (fuchsia), and Grenade (red). I took photos today, but close-ups of tiny flowers are challenging. Still, it should give you an idea of how vibrant the colors are.
Peridot
Peridot the gemstone is a greenish yellow. Peridot the delosperma is a rich yellow.
Topaz
Topaz the gemstone can be a variety of colors, including yellow, orange, even blue. Topaz the delosperma is orange.
Rosequartz
Rose quartz the stone (two words) is pink, as is Rosequartz the delosperma (one word).
Amethyst
Amethyst the gemstone is a deep purple. Amethyst the delosperma is what I would call magenta.
Grenade
Grenade is another word for garnet, a gemstone that is typically a dark red but can also be orange, pink, green, brown, black, or even colorless. Confusingly, the Jewel of Desert line has both a Grenade and a Garnet. Grenade (what I have) has a light pink center; Garnet has a magenta center.
Here are a couple of photos that show how I’m using these delospermas in the garden:
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| ‘Peridot’ (left) and ‘Grenade’ (center), with Malephora crocea, a much larger ice plant, on the right |
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| ‘Rosequartz’ on the left, ‘Amethyst’ on the right |
The jury is still out on how these delospermas will perform in my garden, but I’m happy so far. I had very low expectations, but I’m thrilled by their speed of growth – most of mine have at least doubled in size. At this rate, they’ll form a decent mat by fall. And if they do flower continuously, or even repeatedly, that’ll be the icing on the cake.
As I mentioned, I bought my Jewel of Desert delospermas at Morningsun Herb Farm, a small independent nursery in Vacaville.
Monrovia carries them, too, so there’s a chance you’ll find them at a nursery that buys from Monrovia.
© Gerhard Bock, 2025. All rights reserved. To receive all new posts by email, please subscribe here.
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