Portulaca Hanging

🌿Plant Care Guide

📝 Description

Purslane is a common annual herb, native to the southwestern United States, which is a somewhat weedy species of the desert at higher elevations. It is easily distinguished by the prominent margin on the fruit capsule. A succulent, low growing prostrate plant up to 15 cm high, the leaves are green, linear in shape, and the ascending stems are fleshy, hairless and often reddish in colour. The red flowers are 2 cm across with rounded petals, yellow at their base. They are in bloom from spring to autumn, but are open only part of the day. A wide range of flower colors of cultivars are available: in the Yubi series, there are eight clear colors: white, yellow, light pink, pink, rose, red, scarlet and apricot. They are followed by seed capsules encircled by crown like, pale green, translucent, wings. It thrives in hot, dry conditions and spreads rapidly to become 50 cm across. Plants will reseed themselves in late spring; they are killed by the first heavy frost. A slow release fertilizer in mid summer or fertilizing every two weeks is necessary. Extremely drought tolerant, they require only very moderate watering to look good. They will grow in either average to poor, well drained garden soil in full sunlight. Maintenance is high with weeding and replacement: in midsummer, plants can be cut back by about 50 percent to encourage new growth and more flowers. When mass planted it makes a dramatic impact in desert gardens.