The more I look into the Purslane family the more interesting it gets. There is the Portulaca Grandiflora that includes the Moss Rose, Samba Rose, Rio Rose, and Yubi.
The only Portulaca I saw at my local nursery was what looks like Moss Rose but was labeled as “Portulaca Oleracea”. Which is really the scientific name of the edible Purslane. I think it may have been mislabeled someone just put the wrong label on it.
This is the plant I brought home. When I first had it, there were many bright flowering colors, but now there aren’t as much anymore. The petals are like gift wrapping tissue paper. Some say it looks like a carnation.
Even if it’s part of the Purslane family, I would be a bit sketchy about eating the leaves of these guys.
Photo from Martin Group of Illinois. This is what they refer to as “Moss Ross”, it is in the Potulaca family.
Back to Portulaca Grandiflora, the Rio and Yubi series is classify under the same area. Barton’s Greenhouse and Nursery in Georgia has great information and photos of the many different varieties of this plant. Plant performance notes from Barton’s Greenhouse:
Incredibly heat-loving and drought-tolerant, this prolific bloomer that makes an excellent filler in a informal border or bed. With its spreading habit, it will weave among other plants for a mix-and-match affect. Blooms close up in the late afternoon; Rio series supposedly keeps its blooms open slightly longer than Yubi but we haven’t paid close enough attention yet to be sure.
Here is one of my favorites, it is the Rio Rose/Yubi series in scarlet. Photo from Barton’s Greenhouse.
This is photo of Portulaca Yubi, it has beautiful and bright yellow flowers. Great combination to the lovely blue pot too. Photo taken by Nye Noona.
More photos:
These yellow Portulacas look great decorating the red Hibiscus tree.
Another up close look at the happy flowers. These pretty photos were taken at the Biltmore in Asheville, N.C. by Nye Noona.
Texas A & M field of blooming Purslane.
This is the label, notice the flowers aren’t even the same. But I guess it’s in the Purslane family. I found this at Lowe’s for only 99 cents!
Update 12/14/09: My portulaca started to die down in November. All the leaves and stems died completely in December. Overnight temp was 29 degrees F and covered with plastic. I’m hoping the root is still alive and that it may reappear in the spring time.
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11:55 pm on August 16th, 2009
I was at Lowe’s today to look for a cucumber plant and saw the yellow Portulacas for $4.99, it’s in a hanging pot and I wish it’d survive the cold months, maybe I should give it a try just to see how they do outside, it might come back next year.
10:34 pm on August 19th, 2009
That sounds like a good price and hanging flowers add a nice touch to the yard. I’m hoping my Purslane will survive this winter too.
1:37 am on July 11th, 2010
[...] (-5°C). We had temperatures as low as 32 °F last winter and I forgot to cover them up. Unlike the Moss Rose, those did not survive the California [...]
3:06 am on July 30th, 2010
[...] Moss Rose is just one variety of Portulaca Grandiflora. Others include Rio Rose, Samba Rose, and Yubi. You can read more from my previous post here. [...]
1:16 pm on July 18th, 2011
I live in zone 6 and my Portulaca Grandiflora dies back each year. It reappears in June and by July is in full flower. To encourage continued flowering I keep the leggy parts trimmed back. To ensure next year’s return, I break up some of the seed heads and scatter near the plants.
10:37 pm on July 18th, 2011
@Priscilla, thanks for the garden tip! I will do that this year with the seeds too. One summer I was surprise to find one growing out of nowhere. Photo here.