some nice chickweed there also ... dont bother with those seed either.. lol ...

i planted moss rose.. portulaca.. once.. 15 years ago when i moved in ... they are still around ... in various incarnations .... you really dont need to collect the seed ...

all you need to do.. is learn what the seedlings look like.. and move them around in spring ...

but if you want a specific color or look ... you will have to buy new seed every year ... as they are rather loose with their morals.. and will interbreed at will ... lol

ken

Thanks ya'll. Luckily I talked her out of pulling them up and chunking the entire bed. I had asked her to keep the entire bed and told her I'd take them next spring. I'm not a fan of portulaca but something told me to make her keep them til spring. I also did not know that was chickweed. I started to pull it and changed my mind. I'm reading about it now and super happy I didn't.

' I started to pull it and changed my mind. I'm reading about it now and super happy I didn't.'

Do you mean the Chickweed? Most gardeners would pull that asap. Although it is edible, it also seeds profusely and you'll never be rid of it if you give it any leeway.

Ah. I had intended to put it in my herb garden. Thanks for letting me know it is prolific and I'll hate myself for keeping it.

Portulaca is ridiculously easy to root. So much so that I don't even know why anyone would try to reproduce it from seed. It roots in potting mix with no rooting hormone needed and it will root in about a week. Just put some cuttings about 3 inches long into some potting mix and you'll see them take off in a couple of weeks. Keep them out of direct sunlight and not too moist. I use those propagating trays and put one cutting in each little compartment and then I have a tray full. After two weeks you pop them out of the little compartments and its all full of roots. Alternately I just go around sticking cuttings into all the potted plants I have and they take off.

If you have a warming tray, this would be a good place to use it as Portulaca loves heat. This will also help them root faster.

well rose.... we use seed in the great icy north ... because it gets really.. really.. cold in winter ... lol .. and its not easy to grow a sun and heat loving plants indoors.. next to an icy window ...

brilliant example of micro climates and the differences in dealing with a given plant ...

ken

That's true Ken, I see what you mean. I have the opposite problem of certain seeds not getting cold enough to germinate and I have to put them in the freezer or refrigerator. My advice however, would be to use a seed warming tray (or an electric blanket, I hear they do well) to get them to root. Plus you get the added bonus of having the exact variety when you root a cutting. I also use fluorescent lights in my garage to keep them going when its too hot outside for the little seedlings or cuttings. Its a thought, but maybe you'd prefer seeds as it may be easier than doing this set up.

Portulaca really does love heat, even here where winters don't dip lower than the high 40s (like 2-3 nights of the year) they decline rapidly in the cooler months. But in the summer, they go crazy.

Also, if you are looking for seeds, try looking for "moss rose" as the double portulaca like these are usually referred to as that in the seed catalogs. They usually come in mixed colors (which annoys me because I think they look somewhat clownish when they are all mixed up and so much more elegant when they are all one solid color). So after they flower I take cuttings and root the colors I like, putting 2-3 cuttings of the same color in a pot to get a pot full of the same color. It makes such big statement in the garden. But that's here in S.Fl and may be more difficult in your climate like Ken says. (If it makes you feel any better we cant grow many varieties that you can such as tulips, peonies, hollyhocks, sweet peas, well I could go on and on.....) Why do you think I tinker so much with Portulaca LOL?

Honestly, I don't care for portulaca at all as I feel like you do. With the mixes (which is all that is offered around here), it looks, well, not to my liking. The last time I planted or purchased portulaca was well over 15 years ago. Had it not been for the fact that this one was just the one color and it works with my scheme, I'd not have bothered with it. I just love the colors on this one. The sad part is that portulaca was born for Oklahoma drought and heat. You'd think I'd like a low maintenance plant like this.

Thank you rose for the cutting instructions. Come spring I'll be able to talk her into giving me the entire plant before she upheaves that bed. She also should have tons of it considering that by the time they gave me the seeds/plants most had flung their seeds already. It was way too late in the season to collect seeds. I really wanted to keep the seeds because her stepson (whom I adore) picked them out at the nursery and I just have this feeling she'll want it again one day.

Hi Karen,

" Honestly, I don't care for portulaca at all as I feel like you do. With
the mixes (which is all that is offered around here), it looks, well,
not to my liking. The last time I planted or purchased portulaca was
well over 15 years ago. Had it not been for the fact that this one was
just the one color and it works with my scheme, I'd not have bothered
with it. I just love the colors on this one. "

Portulaca seed are available in many separate colors. These are links to a few examples of colors similar to the one in your picture:

Portulaca Happy Hour Orange

Portulaca Happy Trails Orange

Portulaca Sundial Mango

Portulaca Sundial Tangerine

If you are interested in some other specific color, chances are some seed company is offering it. I am partial to white, and I like the trailing plant habit of the Happy Trails portulacas.

ZM (not associated with any product or vendor mentioned or linked)

Zinnias, Petunias, and Portulaca can't survive winter in Oklahoma. Seeds might sprout, but none of the original plants will still be there.