Illustration
Yellow Portulaca
Portulaca grandiflora
Yellow Portulaca blooms from June through September.
Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.
Growing Yellow Portulaca
Plant it in full sun. It prefers low water. It is hardy in USDA zones 9–11. Expect it to reach about 6 in tall and 12 in wide at maturity, in roughly 1 year (a house reading).
Pets
- Not yet checked for pets.
Lists differ and none is complete. If a pet eats a plant and seems unwell, call a veterinarian or a pet poison helpline.
What was checked
Nine facts were checked against named botanical sources, each recorded beside the sources that carried it: mature height and spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, the trait tags, and years to mature size, which rests on a recorded house rule where no publisher states one and is marked so. Soil, diseases, pests, toxicity and the plant's own names have not yet been read for this plant, and its trait tags are the ones a feature uses rather than every word a page prints. Each fact above carries its own mark. The planting, spacing and size sections are derived from these checked facts by a fixed rule, not checked separately, and the plant type is the library's own classification.
When to plant Yellow Portulaca
Wait until all danger of frost has passed, then plant out Yellow Portulaca into warm soil; in most zones that means late spring. Planted then, it flowers from June to September.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 9, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 9 in February. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.
How big does Yellow Portulaca get?
6 intall5 ft 7 inan adult12 inwideSee Yellow Portulaca in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.
How far apart to plant Yellow Portulaca
Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.
Space Yellow Portulaca about 12 in apart, center to center, so each plant has room to reach its full width.
Add Yellow Portulaca to a garden plan and the planner draws it at its full width, so you see the spacing before you buy.
Where these facts come from
Yellow Portulaca's height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags were checked against 8 published sources on October 29, 2026. Each one is linked below with every fact it carried, which can include a fact this page still marks as not yet checked, because a source carrying a value is not the same as the value being held to the standard. Facts not in that list, and the planting, spacing and size sections, are not covered by these sources.
- Missouri Botanical Gardenheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
- NC State Extensionheight, spread, sun, bloom months and color and trait tags
- depts.ttu.eduTexas Tech Universityheight, spread, water and bloom months and color
- vinlandvalleynursery.comVinland Valley Nurseryheight, hardiness zones, water and trait tags
- RHSRoyal Horticultural Societysun and bloom months and color
- University of Illinois Extensionheight and bloom months and color
- University of Wisconsin HorticultureUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison Extensionheight, spread and trait tags
- plantsearch.extension.umn.eduUniversity of Minnesota Extensionsun
How the checking works, and what each standard covers, is on the verified plants page.
Good to know about Yellow Portulaca
Curated from university extensions, botanic gardens and other primary sources, with the source named on every note.
Safety
ASPCA rates moss rose toxic to dogs, cats and horses; it holds soluble calcium oxalates, so a large amount eaten can upset the gut or, rarely, harm the kidneys. per ASPCA
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Design a garden with this
Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.