portulacas

Question

We planted some portulacas in hanging baskets and they were so pretty and colorful, now none of them are blooming. It is like they all quit blooming at the same time, like the flowers are all dried up. We don’t water them often, because we don’t want to over water them and they have full sun. They were blooming and all of a sudden none of them are blooming. Do you know what could be causing them not to bloom? Feeling sad 🙁 Thanks for your help!

Answer 1

Sometimes portulaca blooms in flushes then spends energy forming seeds. If it looks otherwise healthy, trimming the plant back by a third should stimulate more bloom.(This is essentially dead-heading.) In the ground, portulaca doesn’t need fertilizing but in a container, it does. Try to find a fertilizer that is low in nitrogen. Of course, you should see what happens if you increase watering. Potting mix dries out faster than garden soil and while it is true that portulaca seldom needs watering in the ground, this is not the case in containers.