Portulaca grandiflora Duna Tris

The Portulaca 'Duna Tris' is a selection of Portulaca with large, original and variegated flowers, producing yellow, orange, pink and red corollas on the same plant. They bloom on a small plant with a low and beautifully trailing habit that works wonders in summer compositions. It is an annual with succulent foliage, particularly resistant to drought and sea spray, not demanding in terms of soil, and really easy to grow. Flowering all summer long, it brings life to any setting. Perfect as ground cover in rockeries, but also in hanging baskets and containers.

The Portulaca grandiflora 'Duna Tris' belongs to the purslane family. Its ancestor, the purslane with large flowers, charmingly known as "Eleven o'clock Knight," is an annual herbaceous and frost-sensitive plant native to semi-desert areas of South America. It is a full sun species that is well adapted to hot locations and poor soils, particularly dry in summer.

This Portulaca Duna Tris quickly forms a prostrate tuft of creeping and ramified stems, reaching about 20 cm (8in) in height with a spread of 30 to 40 cm (12 to 16in). The green stems bear small elongated, lanceolate and fleshy leaves, of a fairly bright green hue. Flowering is renewed from June until September. The 6 to 8 cm (2 to 3in) diameter flowers are composed of 5 petals slightly crumpled like silk. Their color ranges from yellow to orange, pink and red, creating a beautiful multicoloured effect on the plant. They require full sun to thrive.

Plant the 'Duna Tris' Purslane in rockeries, borders, hanging baskets, or pots, alone or in combination with other annual flowers. Whether in large masses or small touches, this undemanding and cheerful plant will bring life to any sunny corner without requiring much attention. This semi-trailing plant is a good ephemeral ground cover, to be planted in borders and flower beds alongside plants that thrive in dry conditions, such as dwarf wormwoods, love-in-a-mist, thyme, Californian poppies, and sedums, for example.

Note: Please be aware that our young plug plants are professional products intended for experienced gardeners: upon receipt, repot and store them under cover (veranda, greenhouse, cold frame) at a temperature above 14°C (57.2°F) for a few weeks before planting them outdoors once the risk of frost is definitively eliminated.