Hello! From my perspective, a Portulaca, I am not like your average leafy plant. My stems and leaves are thick and fleshy for a reason: they are my personal water storage tanks. I am a succulent, built to thrive in hot, sunny, and dry conditions. This means my relationship with water is one of careful conservation, not constant consumption. Overwatering is a far greater threat to my existence than underwatering. When my soil is constantly wet, my specialized roots, which are designed to seek out scarce moisture, begin to suffocate and rot. This rot will spread to my stems, turning them mushy and black, a death sentence from which I cannot recover. Please understand that my need for a drink is infrequent but deep.
I communicate my needs clearly if you know how to listen. Do not water me on a rigid schedule dictated by a calendar. Instead, learn to read my signs. The most obvious signal is my leaves. When I am perfectly hydrated, my leaves are plump, firm, and turgid. When I am starting to get thirsty, you will notice my leaves begin to lose their rigidity. They may feel slightly softer to the touch and may look a little less glossy. In more advanced thirst, the leaves will begin to wrinkle or pucker slightly. This is my polite but urgent request for a drink. My stems might also appear slightly less upright. This is the perfect time to water me.
When you have correctly read my signals, it is time for a deep, thorough watering. A light sprinkle on my soil surface is worse than useless; it encourages my roots to stay shallow and weak. Instead, please provide a slow, deep soak. Water me at my base until I see the excess water freely draining out of the holes in my pot's bottom. This ensures that the entire root ball has been moistened and that my deep roots get their share. After this, I want all that excess water to drain away completely. I never want to sit in a saucer of water. The best time to give me this drink is in the early morning. This allows any accidental water on my leaves and flowers to evaporate quickly in the morning sun, preventing fungal diseases and minimizing the risk of my delicate parts being scorched by the sun.
My thirst changes with the seasons and my growth cycle. During my peak growing season in the intense heat of summer, I will need these deep waterings more frequently, perhaps every few days, especially if I am in a container. However, always check my soil first. When the weather cools and the days shorten, my growth slows dramatically. In autumn and winter, I enter a near-dormant state. My water needs plummet. During this time, you must let my soil dry out almost completely and then wait even longer before giving me a very modest drink. Watering me as you did in summer will surely lead to root rot, as I am simply not using the water at the same rate.
