Stonecrop / weeds?

10 years ago

Hi there. I have a question of identification that I'm hoping someone can help me out with. We have a small garden in which we planted two Stonecrop plants (among a couple others). I have generally kept it weed free, although there are a lot of weeks in our area, so it's a very regular practice. We planted around a month ago. We had a lot of rain this week and I went out last night and noticed a large amount of growth around the plants. The thing is that it was just around the two Stonecrop plants, and it's a type that I've not noticed previously.

Before I weed away all of this new stuff, I was hoping someone could confirm that it's not new growth of the Stonecrop plant (which I can't imagine has grown that much so quickly), but rather some kind of weed.

Photo below, the The stonecrop is centre and cutoff at the top and the relevant growth is the multitude of 4-leaf buds coming up. They are different from the "clover" weeds I see in that they are a different shape and a bit reddish/purple like the Stonecrop. If more info or a better picture is needed, I can provide.

Thanks in advance.

Comments (8)

mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)
10 years ago
Looks like purslane to me.
Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
10 years ago
Agreed, a Portulaca.
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hostaholic2 z 4, MN
10 years ago
Which you want to weed out soon, easy to kill when small, I once had larger plants bloom and set seed in the compost pile.
marquest
10 years ago
I agree it looks like Portulaca. The decision is if you want a succulent garden and if you like the look of portulaca. Most bloom yellow. A weed is a plant you do not want.
aseedisapromise
10 years ago
You can eat it if you let it get big, and weed it endlessly thereafter. I'd give it the side of my trowel.
ginnier
10 years ago
Yep, purslane, we have that all over the place. If it seeds in a shady place, it sorta stays low to the ground, almost creeps. If it's growing in a sunny area, it'll get far more upright. It's very succulent, so when you do pull it up, throw it somewhere it cannot re-root! It pulls pretty easily when the ground is soft and moist, but it'll break off easily when the ground is dry and then you don't get the roots. I'd be cleaning that out of the bed!
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
10 years ago
for me here in MI ... we have basically 3 waves of weeds ...

of which this purslane IS A WEED ...

in march.. we have the perennial weeds.. that wintered over ... pull them out ...

then there is the early crop of annual weeds ... these would be the ones that sprout in warm soil.. and enjoy cool nights ...pull them out ...

and then come the heat of the summer weeds ... that need hot soil to sprout .. and thrive in hot nights.. relatively speaking... so here come the purslanes.. and the crabgrass ... you would swear they double in size.. every warm night ...

to forestall all of them.. and reduce your weeding ... you need a mulch ... most of these things germinate on the soil surface .. and if you cover the surface.. you reduce germination by 90% or so ... also.. you bury the 50 billion dormant seeds on the soil surface ... and finally. the mulch will make it easier to pull out what does grow.. as it will keep the soil more friable.. loose ...

so there you go.. pull them out.. add some mulch ... and you should be well on your way ..

ken
prairiemoon2 z6b MA
10 years ago
I have portulaca seedlings and they don't look like this. I do have that particular weed and I didn't realize it was purslane. Which is actually supposed to be a very nutritious green to eat.

Agree, mulch keeps the weeding down. :-)