Purslane grandiflora growing from seeds when to plant. How can you rid purslane of pests?

Purslane is one of the most popular among plant lovers. More famous it popular name- "rugs". Flowerbeds with this plant really resemble a carpet with a bizarre pattern of bright flowers and unusual stems. In addition, he earned his love for the duration of flowering. You can admire this plant literally all summer long. You will learn about what purslane is like, when it is best to plant it and how to grow it from seeds in this article.

The name of this plant comes from the Latin word “portula”, which means “gate”. This name is due to the fact that the box with the seeds of this flower, when opened, resembles a small gate.

The purslane plant was originally distributed in tropical and subtropical America, and today there are about a hundred of its species. The most common of them:

Garden

This species is not distinguished by lush flowering and particularly pleasant appearance, but is grown as a medicinal plant. Beneficial features Purslane is used in medicine, cosmetology, and cooking. All this compensates for its inconspicuous appearance: very juicy, branched stems with teardrop-shaped leaves and small yellow flowers.

Purslane

Purslane grandiflora

This type of purslane is most often sown as seedlings. in early spring(more about the timing below) for a garden, balcony or whatever indoor plant. Under proper conditions, its flowering usually lasts from late spring to early autumn, the flowers are cup-shaped and large, bright rich shades from white to burgundy and lilac. The inflorescences usually close at night and in cloudy weather. This plant reaches 20-15 centimeters in height, normal conditions creeps along the ground.

Purslane grandiflora

Rugs can be classified as due to their long flexible stems. This type of purslane blooms with both double and regular flowers of various shades.

Terry purslane is the most beautiful and valuable variety of garden purslane. In the central regions of Russia it is grown as an annual plant. Its flowers resemble a miniature rose - their corrugated petals are arranged in several rows. Some terry varieties can bloom even in the dark.

In addition, large-flowered or decorative purslane amazes the imagination with a variety of flowering varieties used in gardening:

• "Royal". This one reaches a size of 7 centimeters. Has a huge variety of colors;
• Purslane “Sonya” will also decorate the garden with simple but bright flowers;
• Purslane “Shaherizada” is a mixture of varieties, different shades.
• Purslane "Air Zephyr", characterized by particularly lush flowering and short, up to 10 centimeters, shoots.

Popular terry varieties also include:

Terry purslane "Mango"

• "Flamenco";
• “Mango”, distinguished by its rich salmon color;
• "Cherry" is a spectacular red variety.

Reproduction methods

Purslane propagation occurs primarily by seeds. This method is the most profitable, since purslane can be grown from seeds even after several years of storage.

Purslane seeds are contained in the fruit-box of each flower, from which they spill out when ripe.

How to properly collect purslane seeds:

• Wait until the plant’s first seed pods appear and its stems turn a little yellow;
• Dig it up by the roots, shake off the soil, leaving the leaves on the stem;
• Hang the plant by its stems on ropes in a well-ventilated area with the pods facing down;
• Place a cloth on the floor under the hanging stems.

This method is good because you don’t have to collect purslane seeds by hand - they themselves, having ripened, will fall out of the boxes onto the fabric, and later they will only need to be collected from it and put aside until next spring.

There is another way: on the just faded stems, where the bolls have still begun to grow, you need to tie a fabric bag. Later, you can carefully remove these bags and empty the seeds from them. This method is suitable for those who do not have time to cut a plant with boxes in time, for example, in the country.

Purslane seeds can be stored for three to five years after collection. Seeds stored longer than this period rapidly lose their viability.

Purslane seeds

It should be taken into account that double purslane flowers set fewer seeds, especially densely double ones. This is due to large quantity petals formed not only from the stamens of the flower, but also from the stigmas of the pistil.

This plant can also be propagated by cuttings and replanting part of the bush. This should be done at the end of June or July.

Timing and features of planting seeds

You need to grow purslane from seeds that have been lying around for at least six months. Newly ripened seeds have a low germination rate. It will not be possible to grow this flower from seeds without special care; you will have to be patient.

You can start sowing purslane seedlings as early as February. It is best to use small containers and cover them with film or glass on top. To the bottom of the container better drainage You can add small pebbles.

For seedlings, you cannot use a universal store-bought soil mixture, since the peat it contains greatly impedes the germination of mat seeds. It is best to prepare the soil yourself using regular garden soil and about 20% sand. The sand must be washed before mixing, and the finished mixture must be disinfected in a hot oven.

Before sowing purslane, the soil in the container must be moistened with settled or, even better, melt water. The seeds are laid out superficially in increments of 1 centimeter from each other. You can lightly sprinkle the seeds with soil on top. Since rugs are very heat-loving plant, containers with seeds covered with film should be placed on a well-lit windowsill closer to heating battery. With the onset of stable warmth, the cultivation of purslane seedlings can be continued on the balcony.

In addition to insulation, seedlings will have to be provided with sufficient lighting. To do this, in the evening you need to point a fluorescent lamp at the container with plants. It should also be turned on all day if the weather outside is cloudy.

It is worth watering the seedlings periodically, without allowing the soil to dry out. After a couple of true leaves appear, you need to bake the seedlings.

When to sow purslane outside? This can be done around the end of April, but be sure to cover the planting site with agrofibre. Sow at a distance of 3-5 centimeters. In warm and calm weather, the covering material can be removed to ventilate the sprouts. It can be completely removed in persistently warm weather. How and when to transplant seedlings into the ground? A grown purslane with several buds can be moved into the garden if there is no risk return frosts on the street.

Planting seedlings in open ground and caring for them

Planting purslane and caring for it in open ground does not require much effort.

Before planting purslane in a flowerbed, it is necessary to harden it. It is better to do this in mid-May.

You should choose a place for planting that is as lit as possible, preferably on a hill, but protected from the wind. To loosen soil that is too dense, you can first add fine-grained sand to it. But this is not always necessary, since rugs are quite unpretentious plant, capable of growing in almost any soil.

It is necessary to provide the purslane with space for further growth and plant the sprouts in open ground at a distance of 10-15 centimeters from each other. When purslane is planted, its stem is buried down to the first leaf.

Caring for purslane consists of sufficient watering. This should be done at least once a week, but on particularly hot days you need to make sure that the soil does not dry out. This plant does not need additional feeding.

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Diseases and pests

The purslane flower is very resistant to various pests and diseases. Possible problems may be associated with fungi that infect the plant at high humidity. In this case, the plant will stop blooming and growth will stop, rot spots will appear on the leaves, and the stems will become smaller. You can get rid of the fungus by removing all damaged parts of the plant, and then treating it and the soil around it with one of the fungicidal preparations containing copper.

Among the pests, large-flowered purslane can be attacked by aphids and thrips; you can learn more about the latter. In the first case, the pest is destroyed by any modern insecticides, in the second, with the help of systemic insecticides.

Use in landscape design

This plant will become wonderful decoration stone alpine slide, which is ideal place for planting purslane. Flower arrangements with mats can be supplemented with spring-flowering plants, thereby extending the overall flowering period of the flower bed. IN hanging planters or in flowerpots, these flowers look good on verandas and window sills, in balcony containers. With its help, you can decorate the first rows of flower beds, borders and hide unsightly areas near the house.

Growing purslane is a fairly simple process, and the result will exceed all your expectations.

Before asking questions about the rules for growing purslane, it is worth determining for what purpose the plant will be used. Purslane includes more than two hundred species and subspecies, and the most popular of them are the following:

On sale you can find seeds of large-flowered purslane of various varieties. The most valuable of them are those with amazingly beautiful terry buds.

How to collect purslane seeds

Purslane of all types blooms very profusely; behind this splendor it is difficult to notice that each bud lives only one day. After wilting, fruit set and seed pods form. It is from these boxes that you need to collect the seeds in time, preventing them from falling to the ground, that is, self-sowing.

On a note! If purslane seeds are not collected, they are sown in the soil, and next summer new plants grow, which will bloom only at the very end of summer.

The procedure for collecting seeds is as follows:

• During the growth period, we begin to feed the purslane with mullein solution. In total, you need to make 3 applications of fertilizer every 2 weeks;
• we wait until the first seed pods appear and open on the purslane, and the stems turn yellow;
• We dig up the plants by the roots, shake off the soil. There is no need to trim the leaves;
• in a room with good ventilation we stretch the ropes on which the purslane will hang. Lay burlap or similar fabric on the floor;
• We hang the dug up bushes so that they hang with the seed pods down.

In this way, the plants will dry out, and the seeds from the opened boxes will begin to fall onto the fabric. All that remains is to collect the seeds from the fabric and leave them until next spring.

The maximum shelf life of purslane seeds is 3-5 years. After this period, the germination percentage will tend to zero.

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Where and when to grow purslane from seeds

If you are lucky enough to live in the southern regions of our country, then you can safely plant purslane seeds directly into open ground without additional preparations or measures.

Residents of the northern regions of the country and middle zone It is recommended to grow seedlings from seeds, which are subsequently planted in a greenhouse or soil.

What is this connected with? Purslane cannot be called a whimsical plant, but for its abundant flowering, the immutable conditions are an abundance of light and warmth. These conditions apply to both adult plants and seedlings.

On a note! If frosts occur in your region even in summer period, it is necessary to harden the purslane.

Seeds for seedlings begin to be sown in February and March. But due to insufficient quantity sunlight Artificial lighting of the boxes is required. You can do without additional lighting, but in this case sowing should be done no earlier than the last days of April.

Important! At temperatures below +15–20°C, seedlings develop poorly and even die. And a lack of light will cause the seedlings to stretch out or lie down. The best germination of seeds is ensured at temperatures from +26 to +30°C.

Soil and containers for planting seeds

Purslane, both decorative and used for food, grows well even in poor soil if provided proper watering and the right place was chosen. Planted in compost indoor views purslane does not need to be additionally fed and fertilized.

Important! Store-bought plant mixtures contain peat, which inhibits the growth of purslane. Therefore, you need to prepare the soil yourself.

Step 1. In the garden or vegetable garden, we collect soil without knots, grass and stones. We transport it in a tight bag, and then sift it through a large sieve.

Step 2. We weigh the resulting volume of soil, after which we take sifted river sand in a proportion of 5 parts soil to 1 part sand. Mix the ingredients well.

Step 3. Place the resulting mixture in the oven for calcination and disinfection. You can also perform the procedure in a water bath.

Proper soil preparation
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Next, prepare a container where soil will be filled and seeds sown. Wash well with soap plastic container or bake in the oven wooden box. If there are no drainage holes, drill them in the bottom of the container, best size holes 0.5-1 cm.

Pour a layer of fine gravel or expanded clay into a clean container (it’s better if the volume is small). The layer thickness is maximum 1 cm. Pour the soil mixture on top, leaving 1 cm from the edge of the side to the soil.

All that remains is to water the soil before sowing purslane. Use the leftover mixture for several days tap water, but if it is possible to dial away from city roads pure snow, then we collect it, bring it home and thaw warm water water the soil.

On a note! Don't overuse cold water for watering seeds and seedlings. It is better if the liquid is at room temperature.

Sowing and caring for seedlings

Purslane seeds are small and dark in color. It is convenient to place them in the soil with a damp toothpick, keeping a distance of about 1 cm between the seeds. Do not bury the seeds too deep into the soil.

If you don’t want to speed up the process, you can mix the seeds with pre-calcined river sand, then sprinkle the mixture over the damp soil and lightly press down with a flat spatula. The seeds are moistened from above using a spray bottle.

Immediately after sowing, the box should be covered with cling film or glass and placed under lamps (additional lighting mode: 2-3 hours in the morning and up to four hours in the evening, as well as during the day in cloudy weather). Be mindful of the temperature.

The film should be removed briefly every day for ventilation. If the soil dries out, it is moistened again with a spray bottle. It is important not to overdo it with watering.

After about 7-14 days, the first purslane shoots will appear. During this period, the box with seedlings (without film) can already be placed on a windowsill or glassed-in loggia. It's good if the windows face south. If the seedlings are too dense, you should thin them out a little.

Planting of seedlings is carried out when the seedlings have two true leaves. Plants are transplanted into small pots or cups with a diameter of about 4-7 cm, trying to shake off not all the soil from the roots. You can transplant the purslane into a larger box, leaving a distance of 4-5 cm between the sprouts. The sprouts are sprinkled with soil up to the cotyledon leaves.

It will not be superfluous to apply mineral fertilizer weekly, but this measure is not necessary. Ammonium sulfate is used as a top dressing in the proportion of half matchbox per ten-liter bucket of water.

On a note! The first hardening is carried out after picking. Cups with plants are placed outside for 10-15 minutes every day, the air temperature should be at least 10 degrees. Gradually, the hardening time in the daytime is increased to 6 hours.

Planting purslane seedlings

If the frosts have already passed, and more than 7-9 true leaves have grown on the sprouts, you can plant the plants in open ground.

Rules for choosing a place to grow purslane:

• the site for purslane should be open, on a hill;
• there should be no trees or buildings nearby that provide shade or partial shade;
• the soil should not be waterlogged, otherwise the roots will begin to rot;
• It is better if the soil for ornamental types of purslane is poor, otherwise it will bloom poorly, gaining greenery. Garden purslane can be grown in rich nutrients, but not in oily soil;
• It is permissible to plant seedlings on alpine hills, in hanging flowerpots, street flower beds, etc.

Table of dates for planting purslane in the soil

Based on the table, we select the disembarkation time. We transplant the seedlings by carefully removing them with a lump of earth from a box or cup and moving them into holes, which should be located at a distance of up to 15 cm from each other.

On a note! Plant early in the morning or in the evening, so the tender shoots will take root better.

Water the plant regularly, but not too often, so as not to over-moisten the soil.

If the plant has spots on its leaves or the shoots are severely deformed, it is necessary to remove the affected parts and then treat them with fungicides containing copper.

Video – Purslane. How to sow and grow from seeds

Video - Sowing purslane on fabric

Video - Planting purslane seedlings from fabric into the ground

Viewing different photos purslane, sometimes it is difficult to guess that we are seeing the same plant. These are bright flowers with fleshy needle-like leaves, and grass that is pulled out from the beds. Purslane - useful and beautiful culture, which can be grown both in open ground and at home. In addition, this plant is very unpretentious, so even novice gardeners can cope with planting and care.

Features of purslane

Purslane seed packets say: annual. But it is not so. In our climate with harsh winters, the plant lives in open ground for one season - from spring to autumn. But in southern latitudes, purslane is a perennial.

A herbaceous plant with beautiful flowers - a native of the subtropics of the South and Central America. Purslane, or vegetable purslane, which we consider a weed, is called cosmopolitan. It grows on all continents.

In many countries, for example, in France, India or the Caucasus, this plant is eaten. Purslane is rich in vitamins C, K, E, PP, B1 and B2, carotene and microelements. In cooking, young shoots and leaves are used to prepare salads, stews, and marinades.

In Russia edible species rarely cultivated. But decorative purslane has become widespread. It is often planted in flower beds, alpine hills, rock gardens (a type of rocky garden) and ridges (rectangular flower beds along paths), and they decorate balconies and terraces. This plant takes root well in any soil, even the poorest, can tolerate drought, and does not require weeding or fertilizing. Its creeping stems grow, forming a dense “carpet” of green leaf fibers with a pattern bright inflorescences. The bud blooms for only a day, so the multi-colored ornament is always different.

Purslane carpet changes color every day

Purslane blooms all summer - from mid-June until September or October, until frost begins. The only requirement is plenty of lighting. Purslane is a child of the sun; its flowers do not open in cloudy weather. Although varieties have now been bred that are tolerant of shading.

Choosing between a perennial and an annual flower

Experts have bred many varieties for open ground, with simple and double flowers of the most whimsical colors. However, attempts to grow them at home are rarely successful. The maximum that can be achieved is to keep the varietal plant at home until next year, and after frost, plant it again in the ground or cut out the bush.

But not so long ago, hybrid varieties of purslane appeared, which are successfully cultivated both in indoor floriculture and in garden gardening. These hybrids simple inflorescences. But in the cold season they grow on the windowsill, and in the summer they bloom in the same pot on the balcony or in the garden.

The advantage of perennial purslane is its longevity in one pot, and the disadvantage is its modest inflorescences and less lush flowering compared to annual garden varieties.

A garden varieties They delight with the richness of colors, size and shape of flowers, but they must be grown from seeds or cuttings anew every spring, and then planted in the ground. True, there is a way to grow purslane without problems. Plant a flowerbed once, and then let the flower disperse its seeds on its own and do not dig up this place. Purslane will sprout on its own, but this option is acceptable in relatively warm regions. The colder the climate, the longer it takes for the seeds of a heat-loving plant to germinate. This means that flowers will appear by the middle, or even by the end of summer.

Ampelous, large-flowered, garden and other varieties of purslane

According to some classifications, the genus of purslanes consists of almost 200 varieties, according to others - about 100. But the vast majority of them never became cultivated plants. Large-flowered purslane and many varieties based on it are common in decorative floriculture.

1. Purslane, or vegetable purslane, is an edible plant, but Russian gardeners weed it out like a weed. Thick reddish stems grow up to 30 cm. They spread along the ground. The leaves are oval-shaped, succulent. The flowers are yellow, small. Young leaves and shoots are eaten. The taste of purslane is similar to spinach with a sorrel flavor.
2. Ampelous purslane is a perennial hybrid species suitable for growing at home and in open ground. The plant has fleshy stems that branch well, thick oval-shaped leaves. The flowers are simple, in different shades of white, red, yellow, purple. Ampelous purslane is planted in hanging baskets and tall flowerpots so that the shoots droop beautifully.
3. Purslane grandiflora - decorative look, very popular all over the world. In Russia it is grown as an annual plant. Blooms from June until frost. This is a ground cover plant with creeping shoots. They are covered with a thick brush of thick needle-shaped leaves. Large (5–7 cm) flowers, double or simple, are located at the ends of the stems one or three at a time. The flowers of this particular type of purslane are compared to a rose or peony. Most varieties close their buds at night and do not open on cloudy days.

Terry varieties are more relaxed in partial shade and bloom well even in the absence of bright sun.

Dozens of varieties have been created based on purslane grandiflora. The most popular of them:

• Royal (with simple and very large flowers of various colors);
• Airy marshmallow (with short stems and large double flowers);
• White-flowered (similar to Air marshmallow, but with snow-white inflorescences);
• Princely (with white, orange or bright scarlet inflorescences with corrugated petals);
• Splendence (with showy purple-lilac double flowers);
• Illusion (with large semi-double flowers of cherry or pink shade);
• Extravaganza (with contrasting strokes and dots on flower petals);
• Amber Coast (with lush yellow-orange flowers).

Photo gallery: what different varieties look like

Ampelous purslane is grown both in the garden and at home. The white-flowered purslane got its name due to the color of its double inflorescences. The Air Marshmallow has large flowers of different colors. The Illusion variety has cherry or pink inflorescences. The princely purslane pleases with its white, orange and scarlet flowers. The royal purslane flowers are simple, but very bright large-flowered purslane has become the basis for hybrid varieties The most modest-looking purslane in many countries is a valuable food. Splendens is a variety with purple-lilac flowers. The Extravaganza variety has variegated flower petals.
The Amber Coast is distinguished by colors of orange shades

A few words about garden purslane

Vegetable purslane, which many gardeners destroy, considering it a weed, is not only useful, it is used to treat many diseases. Stems infused with alcohol help with arthritis and heal ulcers. Decoctions and infusions are used for insomnia, eye diseases, dysentery and diabetes.

The vitamin green purslane is low in calories, so it is an excellent component of dietary nutrition. Young shoots with leaves are fried, stewed and pickled. To reap the full benefits of purslane, eat it fresh.

Purslane is an early crop. It is planted directly into the ground from late May to mid-June. Care consists of timely watering. With a lack of moisture, the leaves become coarser. The first harvest of young greenery is harvested 3-4 weeks after sowing.

Video: getting to know the unpretentious purslane

How to propagate a plant

Purslane is propagated by seeds and cuttings. Freshly collected seeds will not germinate; they need to sit for about six months. And they retain germination for about 3 years. You can sow purslane directly into the ground when the average daily temperature is at least 20 o C. In addition, you can grow seedlings.

Seedling method

1. Sowing seeds for seedlings at the end of March or April (the warmer the climate, the earlier, but there is no need to rush - the seedlings may outgrow).
2. Prepare low containers (about 7 cm in height), preferably with a transparent lid, and make drainage holes in them. Fill the containers. Lay a small drainage layer (perlite, fine expanded clay, vermiculite) and a light substrate (sand, garden soil, crumbs) charcoal). Ready-made soil is not suitable for seedlings; it contains peat, in which purslane does not grow well.

   For purslane seedlings, low containers and light soil without peat are needed.

3. Compact the soil and water.
4. Mix purslane grains with sand and spread over the surface.
5. Cover the container with a lid, glass or film.
6. Place in a warm (average daily temperature not lower than 25 o C) and well-lit place (south window sill, on the other side there must be lighting).
7. Ventilate the greenhouse regularly and moisten the substrate if it is dry. After 5–10 days, the seeds sprout.

   In warmth and good lighting, purslane sprouts appear after 5–10 days

8. After germination, remove the cover.
9. Keep warm (temperatures below 20°C can be detrimental to seedlings) and provide bright light.
10. Moisturize carefully; excess moisture leads to blackleg disease. It is better to water through a tray.
11. When the shoots have 2-3 true leaves, thin them out, leaving the strongest ones.
12. Divide them into separate containers. At the same time, be careful with the root; transfer the sprout with a lump of earth. Bury down to the cotyledon leaves.
13. Gradually accustom the seedlings to the street, exposing them to fresh air during the day (first for 20 minutes, gradually increasing the time).
14. After the threat of frost has passed (at the end of May - the first half of June), and the average daily temperature is 20–22 o C, transplant the seedlings into open ground.
15. For purslane, choose a warm, well-lit place with poor soil.
16. Place the sprouts at a distance of 10–15 cm, deepen the seedlings to the first leaf.

Video: sowing terry purslane for seedlings

How to plant seeds in open ground

Purslane is sown directly into the ground in late May-early June. We must wait until the soil warms up to 20–25 o C. Purslane sprouts can die if it gets even slightly colder, not to mention frozen.

1. Make a bed for purslane in a sunny area, protected from the wind. Ideally, it will be a slight elevation.
2. Add sand to soil that is too rich.
3. Moisten the soil, spread purslane seeds on it, and sprinkle a little sand on top.
4. Cover the bed plastic film or glass.
5. During the day, when it gets warm, open the bed slightly for 2-3 hours to ventilate.
6. Moisten the crops as needed by spraying with a spray bottle.
7. When the shoots appear and the temperature is not lower than 24–26°C, remove the film.
8. Thin out seedlings that have grown to 2–3 cm and transplant them to permanent place, diagram - 10:15.
9. Water at the root when the top layer dries.

Planting before winter

It is worth sowing purslane before winter only in the southern regions. The seeds of a heat-loving plant will not begin to grow until the soil warms up to 20–25 o C. So in mid-latitudes there is no point in winter sowing, early flowering it still won't be possible to achieve.

1. Choose a heated and illuminated area for the flowerbed with purslane; it will be good if it is elevated.
2. Remove weeds and prepare the bed.
3. You should sow twice as many seeds as during spring sowing. Mix purslane grains with sand.
4. Distribute the mixture on the soil, sprinkle lightly.
5. In the spring, make sure that the area does not dry out completely after the snow melts.
6. You can cover the crops with film to retain heat.
7. After the seeds germinate, care for them as you would for regular seedlings.

Propagation by cuttings

Purslane is possible take cuttings all summer to renew the plantings. This method will also help speed up the appearance of the first flowers.

How to care for garden purslane

A flowering carpet saves the grower’s time and effort. Purslane is drought-resistant, loves poor soil and does not require careful care. The only thing a plant cannot do without is the sun.

Growth and flowering

It is enough to water flowerbeds with purslane at least once a week, if there is no rain. Pour water under the roots or on top from a small divider. The main thing is to try not to wash away the soil. Plants living in flowerpots or other containers will need more frequent watering. But in any case, it is better to underwater than to over-water the soil. In too rainy weather or when there is too much water, purslane suffers.

You only need to mulch and loosen the soil in the flowerbed at first, until the purslane bushes have grown. The plant quickly covers the soil with its shoots, and weeds do not grow on such a mat. Additional food the flower is not required. It grows and blooms well without fertilizing. Purslane very rarely gets sick and is not liked by insect pests.

How to collect and save seeds

If you do not remove the wilted inflorescences, the purslane may reproduce on its own, scattering ripened seeds. And then next spring in the same place a flower carpet will grow again.

If you do not trust purslane to self-sow, monitor the maturation of the seed pods. To see them clearly, remove the limp petals from the inflorescences. It is important not to skip maturation and “unpacking”. Otherwise, small grains will spill onto the ground. It will no longer be possible to collect them.

The seeds of this plant are often compared to dust, they are so tiny. 10 thousand pieces of purslane grains weigh only 1 g.

It is better to prepare planting material for the future at the height of summer. In hot weather, purslane seeds ripen in only 10–14 days. They need to be collected when the box turns yellow, and then the crop should be dried. With the arrival of cool weather (with an average daily temperature of 12–15 o C), purslane grains do not ripen. If you haven’t had time to stock up, take the pot with the plant home and wait for the seeds to be ready.

Video: caring for decorative purslane

Problems when growing purslane

Some gardeners complain that purslane blooms modestly or refuses to open its buds at all. Most often, the reason for this whim is errors in choosing a place and soil. Purslane will not bloom in a shaded area. The soil for this plant must be poor. Purslane will consider soil that was fertilized even a year ago to be too rich. He will happily grow a carpet of greenery, but will not bloom. Owners of fertile plots can artificially reduce the nutritional value of the soil by adding sand, vermiculite, expanded clay or fine gravel.

Purslane hardly blooms in cloudy and rainy summers. Wet weather can cause the plant to get sick. Leaves and stems become stained, rot and die. Purslane stops growing. Treatment consists of sanitary pruning. It is necessary to remove the affected parts, and then treat the purslane and soil with a fungicide (Previkur, Soligor, Fundazol or Skor).

How can you rid purslane of pests?

Growing on a windowsill: can purslane grow at home?

Just 5–10 years ago, purslane in our area was considered only a garden annual. Now the ampelous variety is grown at home. For now, the plant is just settling in on the windowsill. But more and more gardeners do not want to part with purslane for the winter.

Table: indoor conditions

Watering, fertilizing and pruning at home

Water indoor purslane sparingly, making sure to wait until the soil is almost completely dry. It’s not scary to overdry the earthen lump; it will be worse if excess moisture provokes illness. For watering, use soft, non-cold water.

It is not necessary to feed purslane growing in a flowerbed; it will take everything from the soil. But to what lives in limited space potty, a little nutrition wouldn't hurt. Especially during flowering. You can give him once every 2-3 weeks mineral fertilizers for flowering plants. But make the concentration half as much as recommended in the instructions. With fertilizing, as with water, a deficit is preferable to an excess.

Indoor purslanes can bloom not only in summer, but also in winter, if you provide it with additional lighting and warm conditions. True, there won’t be many flowers. And it’s better to let the purslane rest in a cool place during wintering.

During the winter the shoots inevitably stretch out. Therefore, in early spring the plant should be slightly shortened. Do not delay cutting so as not to damage the formation of buds (they appear at the ends of the shoots). By summer, the purslane should grow new branches.

Purslane has long been cultivated as garden plant and garden decoration. Now it is being moved from flower beds to window sills and grown as a perennial. Indoor purslane is almost as patient and grateful as its garden counterpart.

World annual plants infinitely diverse. They decorate our garden from May until autumn frosts, they bloom luxuriantly and provide an excellent opportunity to change the look of the garden every year. One of the most beautiful and popular annual plants is purslane or “midday heat,” as many gardeners are accustomed to calling it for its ability to open its flowers only in bright sunlight.

Bright purslane flowers have a diameter of 2 - 3 cm and are colored in the most different shades yellow, orange and red colors. The varieties with double flowers, which look like miniature roses. This ground cover plant reaches a height of 15 - 20 cm and is great decoration alpine slides, flower beds, front gardens and garden paths. Purslane looks no less attractive in balcony boxes, which allows you to grow it practically without leaving your home.

Reproduces mainly by seeds. This process takes some time, but allows you to get beautiful plants, which will tirelessly please the eye all season. Purslane seeds are quite small, but their germination rate is good, so almost anyone can grow this heat-loving plant.

Substrate for purslane You can purchase it ready-made, or you can prepare it at home by mixing garden soil with a small amount of leaf soil, sand and charcoal. Purslane- one of the few garden plants, bloom beautifully in poor soils, so a substrate rich in microelements is not suitable for growing seedlings. It should also be remembered that the finished soil should not contain peat and mineral fertilizers.

The seeds are scattered not too thickly over the surface of well-moistened soil and sprinkled with a very thin layer of soil. Taking into account the size of the seeds, at the first stage of development it is recommended to only spray them, because watering from a watering can simply wash them out of the soil. For watering it is advisable to use soft water– if you water purslane with hard water, some of the seeds most likely will not sprout.

Purslane is a very heat-loving plant, so the temperature in the room where the seedlings will be located should not fall below 20 °C. It is recommended to grow purslane in mini-greenhouses - high humidity air and temperature will contribute to its active growth. Containers with seeds are placed where there is diffused sunlight, the soil is regularly irrigated and they wait for the first fruits of labor to appear.

Shoots appear 7 - 10 days after planting and look very thin and fragile. Over the next couple of weeks, they actively develop and soon, thanks to the shape of the leaves, they become like small pine branches. The shelter begins to be removed periodically, and then removed altogether. During this period, it is advisable to provide the seedlings with more sunlight, then the plants will begin to develop side shoots, and by the time of transplantation into open ground seedlings will have several strong stems. If it is impossible to choose a sufficiently illuminated place or it is cloudy outside, the seedlings need to be provided with artificial supplementary lighting in the evening and even at night - without adequate lighting, the seedlings will grow weak.

When the size of the seedlings reaches 2 - 3 cm, they need to be pricked, that is, planted in separate containers. This procedure is necessary for purslane, because ground cover plants They grow not so much in height as in width, for which they require free space around them. It often turns out that seeds They sprout in a thick carpet and planting them is a rather tedious task. To make this long process easier, you should first thin out the seedlings, removing the smallest and weakest seedlings and leaving the best ones. The specimens selected in this way will be much easier to plant, and, moreover, they will all be the strongest and most viable.

The seedlings transplanted into separate containers continue to be kept under the same conditions until a stable warm weather. Not only does purslane not tolerate even the shortest frosts, but a drop in temperature to 5 – 7 °C can be fatal for it. Only starting from the second half of May can seedlings be planted in a permanent place.

For purslane, choose the most sunny place- only there will it bloom in full force. There are no special requirements for the soil for this plant, as long as it is loose and well-permeable to moisture. For seedlings, small holes are dug and bushes are planted at a distance of 10 - 15 cm from each other. Further care Maintenance of plants consists of timely watering and weeding of the soil. Purslane is one of the few ornamental plants, which practically do not require fertilizers. You can feed the bushes no more than twice during the entire season - a couple of weeks after transplanting into the garden and 1.5 months later, to give the plant strength for further flowering.

Purslane very beautiful, drought-resistant and rarely affected by pests. Even the smallest flower bed with these bright bushes will tirelessly evoke a feeling of celebration and give a good mood.