Scientific Name
Portulaca oleracea 'Balriorg'
Common Name(s)
Purslane
Synonym(s)
Portulaca oleracea 'Rio Orange', Portulaca oleracea 'Rio Grande Orange'
Scientific Classification
Family: Portulacaceae
Subfamily: Portulacarioideae
Genus: Portulaca
Description
Portulaca oleracea 'Balriorg', also known as Portulaca oleracea 'Rio Orange', is a prostrate, trailing, free-flowering annual that grows up to 6 inches (15 cm) tall with a spread of up to 12 inches (30 cm). The stems are clad with flat, fleshy, spatulate to ovate, succulent leaves. The leaves are medium green and up to 1.25 inches (3.1 cm) long. Flowers are orange, with five overlapping petals and up to 2 inches (5 cm) in diameter. When grown as an annual plant, flowers bloom continuously from spring to first fall frost. When grown in a greenhouse, flowers will bloom year-round. Flowers usually do not open on cloudy or rainy days.
Hardiness
It is grown as an annual plant, so it has no USDA hardiness zone.
How to Grow and Care
Portulacas tolerate many kinds of soil but prefer sandy, well-drained soil and love the full sunlight. These plants are excellent for high heat and drought tolerance and will seed and spread themselves very well. Some control methods may be needed to keep Portulacas from becoming invasive to areas that are not wanted. These beautiful plants do spread quickly and very well.
These succulents require no attention at all when growing and flowering. However, you should remove them from the garden before Portulacas have a chance to set seeds as they may take over the garden. You do not need to water often for proper Portulaca care. The cylindrical foliage of the plants retains moisture very well. Thus, regular watering is not required. When they are watered, just a light watering will do, as their root zone is very shallow.
The seeds of Portulacas should be sown on the soil surface following the last frost of spring. Ideally, these plants should be grown in a sunny part of the garden. If starting Portulaca indoors, then start about one and a half months in advance.
Learn more at How to Grow and Care for Portulaca.
Origin
This succulent is one of the six cultivars of Portulaca oleracea in the Rio Series that originated in a controlled breeding program in Cartago, Costa Rica, in January of 2002. The cultivars have all received US plant patents and are listed as follows:
- Portulaca oleracea 'Balriorose'
- Portulaca oleracea 'Balriorg'
- Portulaca oleracea 'Balrioscar'
- Portulaca oleracea 'Balrioapt'
- Portulaca oleracea 'Balriowite'
- Portulaca oleracea 'Balrioyel'
Links
- Back to genus Portulaca
- Succupedia: Browse succulents by Scientific Name, Common Name, Genus, Family, USDA Hardiness Zone, Origin, or cacti by Genus
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