Low Maintenence, High Returns
PORTULACA
Try Portulaca if you need a plant that flowers where it’s hot and dry. Portulaca, sometimes called moss rose, is a popular drought-tolerant annual that loves those hot, dry days of summer. These plants are low-growing spreaders with thick succulent leaves and vibrant, cup-shaped flowers. Flowers come in a wide range of jewel-tone colors, including neon pink, red, orange, and yellow.
They adapt to average garden conditions and really do not need a lot of care. Just give them full sun and well-drained soil. You can even plant them in poor, sandy, soil. Water after planting and watch them grow. They’ll grow 4 to 8 inches high and spread 6 to 18 inches. You don’t even have to deadhead. If plants get scraggly, you can cut them back. Don’t fertilize too much; it will encourage plants to produce thick foliage but fewer flowers.
How to use them:
- Because they thrive in dry conditions, they’re a good choice for strawberry jars.
- Great planted in crevices of rock walls or on the edges of gravel paths.
- Notoriously good container plants that do not languish if you forget to water them one day.
- Plant them in a rock garden for season-long color.
- Plant masses in flowerbeds for dramatic impact.
- Reserve your problem areas for Portulaca as they make a great groundcover for hot, sunny areas.
