Life Span
Annual
Perennial
Type
Flowering Plants
Flowering Plants
Origin
South America
Southwestern United States, California
Types
Portulaca grandiflora
-
Number of Varieties
5040
0
40000
👆🏻
Habitat
gardens, Roadsides, Waste areas
Dry areas, meadows
USDA Hardiness Zone
5-114-9
0
99
👆🏻
AHS Heat Zone
12 - 1
9-1
Sunset Zone
A1, A2, A3, H1, H2, 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24
1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20, 21
Habit
Prostrate/Trailing
Clump-Forming
Plant Size
Minimum Height
10.20 cm61.00 cm
0
3900
👆🏻
Minimum Width
20.30 cm25.40 cm
0
6350
👆🏻
Plant Color
Flower Color
Red
Crimson
Flower Color Modifier
Bicolor
Bicolor
Fruit Color
-
-
Leaf Color in Spring
Green
Green
Leaf Color in Summer
Green
Green
Leaf Color in Fall
Green
Green
Leaf Color in Winter
Light Green
-
Shape
Leaf Shape
Needle like
Oblong
Thorns
✔
✘
✔
✘
Plant Season
Summer, Fall
Summer
Growing Conditions
Sunlight
Full Sun
Full Sun, Partial Sun
Growth Rate
Very Fast
Fast
Type of Soil
Loam, Sand
Loam, Sand
The pH of Soil
Neutral, Alkaline
Neutral, Alkaline
Soil Drainage
Well drained
Well drained
Bloom Time
Indeterminate
Early Summer, Summer, Late Summer
Repeat Bloomer
✔
✘
✔
✘
Tolerances
Drought, Heat Tolerance
-
Where to Plant?
Container, Ground, Pot
Ground
How to Plant?
Seedlings
Seedlings, Stem Planting
Plant Maintenance
Low
Medium
Watering Plants
Watering Requirements
Average Water Needs
Do Not over Water, Requires watering in the growing season, Water Deeply, Water when soil is dry
In Summer
Lots of watering
Lots of watering
In Spring
Moderate
Moderate
In Winter
Average Water
Average Water
Soil
Soil pH
Acidic, Neutral, Slightly Acidic
Neutral, Alkaline
Soil Type
Well drained
Loam, Sand
Soil Drainage Capacity
Well drained
Well drained
Sun Exposure
Full Sun
Full Sun, Partial Sun
Pruning
Remove damaged leaves, Remove dead branches, Remove dead leaves, Shearing
No pruning needed in the early stages, Prune to stimulate growth, Remove damaged leaves, Remove dead leaves, Remove deadheads
Fertilizers
Requires high amount of nitrogen
All-Purpose Liquid Fertilizer, Apply 10-10-10 amount
Pests and Diseases
Aphids, Botrytis Blight, Brown Spots, Gray mold, Root rot, Stem rot
Insects
Plant Tolerance
Drought, Heat Tolerance
Drought
Flowers
Showy
Showy
Flower Petal Number
Semi-Double
Single
Fruits
Showy Fruit
✔
✘
✔
✘
Edible Fruit
✔
✘
✔
✘
Fragrance
Fragrant Flower
✔
✘
✔
✘
Fragrant Fruit
✔
✘
✔
✘
Fragrant Leaf
✔
✘
✔
✘
Fragrant Bark/Stem
✔
✘
✔
✘
Showy Foliage
✔
✘
✔
✘
Showy Bark
✔
✘
✔
✘
Foliage Texture
Fine
Medium
Foliage Sheen
Matte
Matte
Evergreen
✔
✘
✔
✘
Invasive
✔
✘
✔
✘
Self-Sowing
✔
✘
✔
✘
Attracts
Butterflies
Hummingbirds
Allergy
-
Asthma
Uses
Aesthetic Uses
Beautification, Bouquets, Cottage Garden, Ground Cover, Showy Purposes
Showy Purposes
Beauty Benefits
Skin Problems
-
Edible Uses
✔
✘
✔
✘
Environmental Uses
Air purification
Air purification
Plant Benefits
Medicinal Uses
Depurative, Insect Bites, Liver problems, Snakebite, Swelling
Burns, Snakebite, Stomach aliments
Part of Plant Used
Flowers, Leaves, Stem, Whole plant
Whole plant
Other Uses
Showy Purposes, Used As Food, Used for its medicinal properties
Used as Ornamental plant
Used As Indoor Plant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Used As Outdoor Plant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Garden Design
Cottage garden, Edible
Container, Mixed Border, Rock Garden / Wall, Wildflower
Botanical Name
PORTULACA grandiflora
PENSTEMON eatonii
Common Name
Moss Rose, Portulaca, Sundial Scarlet Portulaca
Firecracker Penstemon
In Hindi
Portulaca
Firecracker penstemon
In German
Portulak
Kracher penstemon
In French
portulaca
Firecracker penstemon
In Spanish
Portulaca
Penstemon del petardo
In Greek
Portulaca
πυροτέχνημα penstemon
In Portuguese
Portulaca
Penstemon do foguete
In Polish
Portulaca
petarda penstemon
In Latin
Portulaca
Firecracker Persicaria
Kingdom
Plantae
Plantae
Phylum
Magnoliophyta
-
Class
Magnoliopsida
-
Order
Caryophyllales
Lamiales
Family
Portulacaceae
Scrophulariaceae
Genus
Portulaca
Penstemon
Clade
Angiosperms, Core eudicots, Eudicots
Angiosperms, Asterids, Eudicots
Tribe
-
-
Subfamily
-
-
Number of Species
1250
1
27800
👆🏻