Purslane indoors?

15 years ago

I noticed this growing around the base of the japanese umbrella pine awhile back and let it grow for awhile before taking a cutting. Anyway, the original plant got too big and I potted it too.

I know it's a weed but I think it's a really awesome looking plant. Kinda like a jade plant, in a way. I was wondering, though, if there was any way go overwinter it, or keep it going for more than a single growing season.

Featured Answer

Bob Gander (Phoenix, Arizona)

8 years ago

I grow wild or common purslane in pots all spring and summer outdoors in full sun and they give me plenty of salad greens. I currently have 5 pots of them growing in the full sun. When fall comes I take 2 pots of purslane and bring them inside and put them under powerful grow lights that run 24 hours a day, and they continue to grow, but weirdly. I get a few harvests off of them during the winter, but mainly I just keep them alive until spring. Once spring arrives, I bring them back outside to full sun and they jump back into full growth mode, giving me plenty of greens again. Meanwhile at that time, I start 3 new pots with fresh seeds. It takes over a month for the new plants to get big enough to make any harvests off of them without damaging them. Eventually the old ones do die out on their own, mainly from salt building in the container. We have very hard water where I live. They are a fun and easy and tasty plant to grow and I encourage people to try growing them in containers.

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Comments (8)

karen715
15 years ago
It is kind of cool, isn't it? I have a small outdoor succulent garden (hardy sedums and sempervivums) and when some purslane (Portulaca olearacea) showed up one year, I let it stay, because it seemed to fit right in.

Unfortunately for your purposes, I'm pretty sure it is a true annual.
countrykitty
15 years ago
You ought to give it a try! And be sure to gather some of the tiny black seeds that appear in capsules where the blooms were so you can reseed them next spring.

BTW, purslane is edible and nutritious--high in vitamin C and omega-3 fatty acids.

Here's a link:

http://landscaping.about.com/cs/weedsdiseases/a/purslane.htm
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txcactus
15 years ago
I have 3 pots of purslane. The first winter I let it die and it came back from seed the following spring (when the weather got real warm). This past winter, I brought it in when the weather was too cold (below 40 degrees). I'm having trouble with scale insects attacking it this summer. I'm not sure that it will last another winter. They are generally thought to be annuals. I live in the D/FW area and we usually don't have long stretches of cold weather. I agree that you should give it a try!
amccour
Original Author
15 years ago
Well, the two plants I had potted are behaving interestingly. The first one, which was a cutting of the second (before I pulled it up and potted it), flowered, seeded, and it's got one leafless, deadish stem, and another stem that's doing alright, and some seedling growing in the little pot it's in.

Plant 2's gotten incredibly leggy (which I don't mind. It looks neat, here. It's mat-like, but also a little bit upright and looks rather alien. Also it's got a strangely woody looking main stem on it. The largest branch is about as wide as my pinky.) and most of the leaves are smaller, but it doesn't seem to be dying back after going to seed. Not all of the seed pods have ripened yet, but it's been putting out seeds since... late July, I think. We'll see how this goes. Also, the container it's in should've caught enough seeds that if the parent plant dies, I should get some new sprouts.
samn
13 years ago
You can in fact grow purslane indoors. It can be fun. It's not too difficult either. Just remember to put the seeds in the fridge before planting.

Here is a link that might be useful: How To Grow Purslane Indoors
gravyboots
13 years ago
Purslane is yummy! Kind of tart & juicy - tasty in salad.
michael1846
10 years ago
Can u brace purslane