need help with portulaca (moss rose)

Can someone tell me how to properly care for this plant...it flowers and then gets dried tips and if I pull off the old dried flower there is a seed cup with seeds at the tip...I did not know this plant seeded after flowering this early in the season....Should I just pinch back the tips or pull the dried flowers and save the seed cups with seeds...I want it to continue flowering thru the summer...Am I doing something wrong?
Thanks
Gail

In Hawaii we used porulacas as ground cover and we rarely watered them. It loved hot sunny areas. They would get stepped on, etc. and they still grew well. I loved them for their vivid colors. I know you can grow them by seeds, but, we just cut some of the long runners and plant them in a long tray. After they rooted I divided them by cutting between the growing points. Hope I didn't make you more confused.

We have it in pots and just let it re seed itself. They then grow back the next year. I usually don't mess with pulling off the old blooms... too much trouble and they will just fall off. Just give it sun and water and let it grow. I have 3 pots of it right now from the plants I bought last year. The pots have sat outside all winter... they just started growing when it was warm enough and they had some water.

Tammie

portulaca are pretty much maintenance free. Just a shot of water now and again. That's the flower I recommend for people who have too much sun and crappy soil as it will grow anywhere.

Ya I love it! It will grow just about anywhere it can get some sun! It will reseed by its self, you do not need to deadhead it.

I have even seen people use old cake pans or what have you as interesting pots to set peeking out from other things and just feeled it with dirt and put some in there and just let it go!

Mine I did not mess it other then to water it and it lived all summer up until October of November when we got our first hard freeze.The flowers changed colors as it got colder! It was kind of cool to see!!

This year I am going to try and deadhead alittle just so I don't have to buy seed next year. I had to start over this year! This year we got everything blooming and then got a freeze very late and killed everything off!! So......

I just changed to coconut matting baskets and mine took off. I pinch-maybe once a week and feed once a month. I am in Florida and everything bakes except these hardy little bloomers.

Hi everyone...in Australia we just treat these plants like succulants
no fussing...they look a bit crook in the winter but self seed and pop back up when it gets warm! :) We pinch out for continuous flowering...they grow easily from bits too! and just scatter the seeds around....or leave some to set seed and grow themselves:)
There are improved varieties such as "sun jewels" that stay happy and open even on overcast days.

Here's a photo I took last year of my little bed. I never did anything to it other than a little water now and then. Over winter I just pull up what's left of the plants and wait til the following spring. They reseed so thickly that I have to thin them out.

That little garden is very pretty ...they are just one of those kind of plants that make you smile...always bright and happy!

This message was edited Jun 16, 2007 7:56 PM