How to Grow Purslanes
On this page
Purslane (Portulaca oleracea) — annual.
The short answer
- Site
- 6+ hours of sun
- Biggest risk
- Stem/root rot
Core growing advice on this page is checked against named horticultural sources — see References.
Purslane (Portulaca oleracea)
6 sources cited · Verified
At a Glance
Quick Facts
Growth Stages
Harvest & Storage
Diseases
Pests
Plan your Purslanes planting
Timing for Purslanes follows soil temperature and frost, not the calendar date. The Global vegetable planting calendar explains the method. To work out where it fits in your beds, sketch your plot in the free Garden Layout Planner.
What the research guides add
Purslane is a garden weed and a salad plant at once, and NC State describes its toughness.
- An annual succulent that is drought-tolerant once established and grows in full sun and well-drained soil; propagation is by seed and stem cuttings. (NC State Extension)
- Its taproot and fibrous secondary roots tolerate poor, compacted soils and drought. (NC State Extension)
- The flowers are small, yellow and open only briefly in the morning, each replaced by a seed capsule that splits to release dark seeds. (NC State Extension)
Sources for this section
Section researched and checked on 25 October 2026 by the SoilCommander Editorial Team. How we check facts: editorial policy.
Growing Purslane in another region
Sowing dates, frost timing and local advice differ by country. Use the guide for where you garden.
Sources
-
Direct-sow fresh seed in full sun after last spring frost, in well-drained, lean soil, pH 5.5-7.0, seeds 1/4in (0.5cm) deep. Sow well after the last frost once soil is reliably warm; germinates in 7-10 days. Thin to 10-15cm apart. Loves baking sun and lean soil; water deeply but infrequently once established, drought-tolerant thereafter, but water regularly until established. Matures in just 40-60 days; harvest young, tender stems and leaves continuously from 4-6 weeks after germination, picking sprigs throughout the season. Monthly successional sowing gives a continuous supply.
These 2 sources are specific to this region. The full list of 6 sources behind this guide (GBIF, Johnny's Selected Seeds, NC State Extension and others) is in the references of our UK guide to purslane; they describe the plant itself, which is the same wherever it grows.
Frequently Asked Questions
What problems affect purslane?
Our data links 1 disease and 4 pests to this crop. See the sections above for each one and how to manage it.
Plan next season before the problems start
This page gives you the thresholds; the planner turns them into your own calendar. It works from what you can observe and measure in your garden rather than from dates written for somebody else’s latitude.
Get the Global Garden Planner →Instant PDF download · Works in either hemisphere
How this guide is put together
The growing data on this page — sowing windows, pests, diseases, soil and site requirements — comes from named horticultural sources, listed in References below, checked against international horticultural research and extension sources. An automated pipeline assembles that verified data into the page you're reading: it selects which facts to lead with and builds the surrounding prose and layout. It does not invent a date, a source or a number — where a verified value for a field isn't available, the page leaves it out rather than guessing. A person reviews and publishes each page; nothing goes live unverified.
Related Problem Guides
Last verified 2026-10-25
Related guides
More from the same group (leaves & salads):
Where To Go From Here
Take this crop from reading into a written plan for your own beds.
Keep going
Plan the next step
Use the printable SoilCommander planner for your region to turn this guide into sowing dates, bed layouts and weekly garden tasks.