Description
The portulaca plant (Portulaca grandiflora), sometimes called moss rose or sun rose for its saucer-shaped flowers, is a fast-growing annual in the Portulacaceae family. From summer to fall, it opens single, double or semi-double blooms in red, yellow, rose, white, orange, salmon or bicolors. Thanks to its succulent-like leaves, which resemble thick pine needles, moss roses can tolerate heat, sun and periods of drought. Use this South American native as a spreading groundcover or let its stems cascade from hanging baskets and other containers; varieties range from 3 to 12 inches tall and 6 to 24 inches wide. Portulacas are ideal for gardeners who love low-maintenance plants.
How to Plant Portulaca
For a jump on the growing season, start portulaca seeds indoors six to eight weeks before the last spring frost. Sow them 1/8-inch deep in seed starting mix. Keep them moist and in a spot that stays around 70 to 75 degrees F. After the seedlings pop up in 10 to 14 days, move them to a sunny window or put them a few inches underneath fluorescent plant lights for 16 hours a day. (Don't run the lights constantly.) If you’re using a seed starting kit, watch for two sets of leaves to appear and then thin portulaca seedlings to one per cell. When the plants get taller, raise the lights as needed.
When the seedlings are about a month old, feed them a liquid houseplant fertilizer at half-strength, following the manufacturer’s instructions. Harden them off (move them to a sheltered location outdoors for about a week) before you plant them in the garden or outdoor containers.
You can also sow portulaca seeds directly in the ground after the last spring frost. Sow them 1/8-inch deep, gently firm them down and moisten the soil. Like indoor seeds, they should sprout in 10-14 days.
How to Care Portulaca
They are sold in the spring and if you see leftover moss rose plants on clearance sale in the summer, you might notice the plants are usually just as lovely as they were in the spring, which is a testament to the plant's toughness. The medium green, cylindrical, succulent leaves of moss rose are another clue to the plant's hardiness—namely its tolerance to drought conditions.
Moss rose plants are a popular choice for growing in container gardens, along the front edge of garden bed borders, as edging along paved walkways, on top of stone walls, and in rock gardens. In addition, the trailing habit of moss rose works well in hanging baskets. Moreover, moss rose doesn't typically spread fast outside of its bounds as a ground cover, so it's ideal for small gardens.
These plants will flourish in poor, dry soils where many other plants might struggle—in fact, soil that's too wet can actually kill them. Moss roses typically bloom from summer to the first frost of the fall without any deadheading required. As annuals, the plants will die at the end of the growing season, but they do produce seeds that can potentially germinate and sprout the following year.
Light
Moss rose plants need full sun, at least six to eight hours on most days to look and bloom their best. If you try to grow them in a shady area, they will fail to produce flowers and the flowers they do have likely won't open.
Soil
These plants thrive in sandy and rocky soil and demand excellent drainage. If your garden bed has clay soil, grow your moss rose in containers rather than try to improve the clay soil drainage. Soil that retains too much water can easily cause the plant to die.
Water
Moss rose plants have low moisture needs, though they aren't quite as drought-tolerant as cacti. The plants will tolerate periods of dryness, but flowering is usually better with some (well-drained) soil moisture. Plan to water the plant if you have a long stretch without rainfall—as a general rule of thumb, one deep watering per week during the hot summer weather should suffice.
Temperature and Humidity
A native of Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina, moss roses like high heat and low humidity. It will tolerate cool, moist spring weather as long as it is frost-free. However, the best growth (and blooming) won't occur until the summer heat comes along. Moss roses are frost tender and will die back come winter, likely at the first deep freeze (if not earlier).
Fertilizer
Moss roses can tolerate lean soil, so they typically don't need fertilizer. However, feeding the plant with a balanced, slow-release fertilizer at the time of planting can help promote healthy growth and profuse flowering. You can also fertilize twice during the plant's growing season, this time using a blend that's high in phosphorous for more bountiful blooms.
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