When to sow purslane?
- Botanical name
- Portulaca oleracea
- Family
- Portulacaceae
Purslane is sown outdoors from May to August, 0.6 cm deep. It is harvested from July to October.
Purslane is an annual plant. The edible parts are the stems, leaves, flowers and seeds.
The soil covers it only lightly, because the seed germinates less easily from depth. The seed is fine, so it is scattered along a row and the stand thinned later. Pots and transplanting are not its route.
The whole life of the plant falls in the warm season, and frost ends it. The sowing opens about a week after the last spring frost and runs all summer. Picking is never done in one go. Cut down, the stand comes again, until the first autumn cold stops it.
Purslane is a succulent and takes drought. In dry ground the leaves have less flavour, so it is watered regularly and moderately. It asks little in nutrients.
Purslane through the year
- outdoor sowing
- harvest
In short
The last frost is not on the same day everywhere, so the recorded weeks are a guide and not a date.
Growing conditions
Is purslane toxic to cats and dogs?
Yes. Toxic to cats and dogs.
Pests and diseases
Listed here is every problem for which the sources name this plant as a host. The problems are not listed in order of how common they are.
- Signs
- A white, floury coating spreads over the leaves, first on the lower and older ones. The leaf under it yellows and dries up. The fruit stays small, because the plant loses leaf surface.
- Prevention
- Plant resistant varieties, leave an airy spacing and sun, and clear the debris at the end of the season. Unlike most fungi it is not helped by wet foliage, since it spreads in heat and high air humidity, in a dry summer too.
- What to do
- Oil products meant for powdery mildew on the squash family work on contact. They do not cure a leaf that is already affected, but they stop the spread to healthy ones. On herbs cut the affected shoots back instead, since the new growth comes clean. On ornamental perennials what is left is spacing and moisture.
Check the registration and the label before use.
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Related plants
The plant below is in the same botanical family (Portulacaceae).
Sources about the plant: ASPCA Toxic and Non-Toxic Plants, BUND Region Hannover, GBIF Backbone Taxonomy, Johnny's Selected Seeds, KGZS, NC State Extension Plant Toolbox, Penn State Extension, UF/IFAS Extension, University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension, Wikidata. Checked between 14 and 30 August 2026. The problem descriptions also draw on: Clemson Cooperative Extension, KGZS, Royal Horticultural Society, University of Maryland Extension, Utah State University Extension.