Portulaca oleracea - Purslanes

We've noticed bees visiting the multicoloured blooms on these creeping plants; add a splash of colour to your garden too.

These semi-succulent creeping plants produce flowers in summer in shades of red, pink, purple, white or yellow, and look fabulous while they do. They are also edible, and you can harvest the leaves throughout the summer to add to salads and soups. Our pots of Purslanes probably contain a couple of different plants in them to get a mix of flower colours. If you collect the seed from this annual in autumn after flowering, you will probably get a new mix of colours as cross-pollination will mean they are not exact copies. We'd love to see what you end up with if you try this!

Scientific Name
Portulaca oleracea (little gate plant, herbal)

Common Name
Purslane, Purslain, East Indian Cress, Pigweed

Origin
This plant is probably native to North Africa, the MIddle East and the Indian subcontinent, but it has been grown in Europe for over 200 years, and in North America for over 500.

Pruning Tips
If the plant starts to get leggy, prune in late summer.

Wildlife Value
Can attract pollinators such as bees.

Positioning
Your Purslanes can grow in full sun to partial or dappled shade, but will need some sun so make sure they aren't in deep shade.

Water
Your purslane is drought-tolerant, so you shouldn't need to worry about watering except in very dry weather; pay more attention when growing in a container. Your purslane will wilt when thirsty.

Soil
Soil for purslanes should be moist but well-draining; soil with sand and stones will be fine for this plant as it doesn't want too many nutrients either.

Food
Purslanes don't need much fertiliser, but will benefit from a small fed after cutting back or when it's putting out new growth.

Pet-safe
No, this plant is toxic to cats and dogs.

Sprouts Top Tips
This plant is an annual, so if you love seeing it in your garden, save the seeds when they appear in autumn, and you can sow them the following spring. If you sow seed every couple of weeks from May to October, you should have a consistent amount of the plant to allow you to harvest seeds for eating, too!