| Scientific name |
Portulaca grandiflora |
| Common name |
Portulaca, Moss rose hanging,Japanese Rose, Moss Rose, Portulaca |
| Temperature requirement |
25-35 °C |
| Humidity |
40-50% |
| Light |
Full sunlight |
| Watering |
Water everyday &keep moist |
| Pests |
Aphids |
| Pet friendliness |
Toxic to pets and humans |
| Maximum plant height |
7-15 cm |
| Potting mix |
potting soil/Red soil/manure/perlite |
| Pot requirement |
Good drainage&repot every 1-2 years |
| Nutrition |
Apply Manure for first 15 days and NPK for next 15 days |
| Pruning&training |
Remove dead & diseased leaves with sterile shears |
| Flower colour&season |
pink, peach, yellow, orange, red, fuchsia, magenta, lavender and purple. |
| 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 colours of cultivars are available: in the Yubi series, there are eight clear colours: 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 fertiliser in mid summer or fertilising 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. |
