Portulaca grandiflora, common name, moss rose or sun rose, is one of my favorite bedding plants. Some years I start them from seed, and other years I purchase the plants from local nurseries. I have used them as border edgings, in strawberry pots, or as fillers. The ones that I love the best, though, are the self-sown plants that pop up in nooks and crannies where one would least expect anything to grow. Seeing these surprise portulaca always has me shaking my head, smiling and wondering, How on earth did you get way over here and how did you manage to grow?
The flowers of portulaca resemble tiny roses growing on a low-growing plant with succulent, needle-shaped leaves and trailing stems. For optimum growing conditions, full sun is a must, as is well-drained soil. They require little, if any, care and will survive on very little water, which makes them an excellent plant for xeriscape gardening (water-sensible).
Color choices for portulaca were, at one time, limited to strong colors. More recently, some pastel shades have become available. The 'Margarita Mix' has cocktail colors of banana, coconut, strawberry, cream and orange. The name alone paints a picture of lounging in a deck chair with a tall, cool drink in hand surrounded by a lush planting of moss roses.
The 'Samba' series offers large flowers in white, rose and a gorgeous pink bi-color. If you know how to do the samba, you might want to place one of those miniature roses behind one ear, grab your partner and samba your way down the garden path!
Originally, the flowers of the portulaca closed up around noon, but most of the modern strains stay open most of the day on sunny days. Check on this characteristic when you buy your plants. There is a 'Sundial' series, though, that has been bred to open even on cloudy days and they are said to bloom two weeks earlier than most.
At one time I considered planting portulaca as a ground cover in my rose bed. However, on further reflection, I discarded this idea as it would be shady underneath the roses, which wouldn�t do at all for the Portulaca. Besides, roses want plenty of water and fertilizer, just the opposite of Portulaca. As a compromise, I have planted portulaca on the outer edges of the rose bed where they received the needed sun and where I could control the amount of water and fertilizer they received.
If you would like to start portulaca from seed, you need to do so about eight to ten weeks before the outdoor transplant date. Since they have poor frost tolerance, wait two to three weeks after the last average spring frost date before planting them out.
There must be a sunny spot in your landscape just waiting for such a small but mighty annual; a rock garden, window box, planter, alongside a walkway, between patio pavers, the possibilities are endless. Portulaca will be sure to reward you the following spring, popping up in places you would never expect, bringing a smile of wonder to your face - an 'aha' moment.
