Portulaca grandiflora

Portulaca: One of those simple and seemingly “stuffy” plants that I had always ignored – until I needed to find some pretty summer ground cover for two large pots on the terrace. These plants are everywhere and they are so inexpensive that they are practically thrown in with your purchase at the garden center. They don’t always look perfect – in fact mine went through several “moltings” between floral splendor and dried-up misery but they always came back and brightened up the pots with their gorgeous little flowers.

Portulaca, also know as purslane, has over 100 species which thrive mostly in arid tropical and subtropical regions like Africa and South America. Portulaca grandiflora is native to Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina, where it grows on dry sandy soils.

Soil should be loose, well-drained, and not too rich in nutrients. It’s even recommended to mix regular potting soil with about one third sand. Portulaca grandiflora only needs to be watered sparingly (maybe I watered too much) because it can stock up on water in its fleshy leaves. One can snip off dead flowers but that can become a bit stressful if you have a lot of plants – which is why I stopped doing it.