Portulaca pilosa (Kiss Me Quick)

Scientific Name

Portulaca pilosa L.

Common Names

Kiss Me Quick, Pink Purslane, Chisme, Shaggy Portulaca, Hairy Pigweed, Hairy Portulaca, Rose Purslane, Rose-flowered Purslane, Seashore Purslane

Synonyms

Portulaca pilosa var. pilosa, Portulaca ehrenbergii, Portulaca gagatosperma, Portulaca karwinskii, Portulaca lanata, Portulaca mundula, Portulaca poliosperma

Scientific Classification

Family: Portulacaceae
Subfamily: Portulacarioideae
Genus: Portulaca

Description

Portulaca pilosa is an annual or short-lived perennial with sprawling habit. The succulent leaves are linear or narrowly ovate-elliptic and slightly flattened. They are up to 1 inch (2.5 cm) long and up to 0.2 inch (0.5 cm) wide. The axillary hairs are numerous, long and dense. The flowers are pink, purple or magenta, borne in terminal clusters of 1 to 6 and up to 0.6 inch (1.5 cm) in diameter. They appear from late spring to early fall. The capsules are oval and up to 0.2 inch (0.5 cm) in diameter.

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 where they are not wanted. These wonderful plants do spread easily and very well.

These succulents require no attention at all when growing and flowering. However you should remove them from the garden before Portulaca have chance to set seed 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 needed. 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

Portulaca pilosa is native to the Americas.

Links

• Back to genus Portulaca
• Succulentopedia: Browse succulents by Scientific Name, Common Name, Genus, Family, USDA Hardiness Zone, Origin, or cacti by Genus

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