Portulacas are often thought of
as rock garden plants because they do so well in that setting. They are tender
annuals with succulent, needle shaped leaves and trailing stems 6 to 8 inches
long. The flowers are bright and papery textured in shades of pink, red,
yellow, salmon, orange purple, and white. They are normally sold in mixture,
not as single colors. They open in sun but close at night and on cloudy days.
Since they are gloriously drought tolerant, and you need to put them in pots,
window boxes, or any container that I might forget to water from time to time.
If you want to grow Portulaca
then transplanting being difficult it is best to start seed directly in the
garden when the soil is warm. A warm sunny exposure is essential as this is a
site with well drained soil. Thinning is not necessary. They will tolerate poor
soil as well as hot, dry conditions. On top of all that, they will self sow!.
