Purslane

In Central Europe, purslane is an annual and dies off completely with the first frosty night. You do not need to overwinter the plant itself. In autumn, let a few plants go to seed or collect ripe seeds and store them cool and dry, then sow again from mid-May, after the Ice Saints.

The easiest way to propagate purslane (Portulaca oleracea) is by direct sowing: scatter the tiny seeds straight onto the bed from mid-May to August and press them down only lightly. It needs light to germinate and must not be covered with soil; even a few millimetres of soil harm germination. Germination only works reliably once the soil temperature reaches around 20 to 22 °C, so sowing earlier is hardly worthwhile. In warm soil it germinates quickly, usually after five to ten days, and you can harvest the first young leaves after about four weeks. After that, purslane self-seeds reliably. If you want to keep that in check, remove the flower heads before the seed capsules burst open. For vegetative propagation (for example, to keep a special plant going through the season), cut sturdy shoot tips 5 to 8 cm long, remove the lowest leaves and put them either in a glass of water or straight into a loose, moist mix of sand and soil. Thanks to its succulent shoots, it roots very readily: in a warm, bright spot roots often form after just a few days, at the latest after one to two weeks. Keep the substrate only lightly moist, as waterlogging makes the cuttings rot. This works most reliably in summer at temperatures above 20 °C.