Very pretty! Maybe in the wax begonia family?

Looks like a portulaca to me, but my experience with portulaca is that it's a smaller plant/flower than yours appears. May something related? Portulaca's common name is moss rose, so that would account for the rose-like blooms.

Just got 2 additional IDs from Name That Plant... hybrid Portulaca oleracea (purslane). (I'll be searching for a sunny spot in my mostly-shady yard!)

Thanks for the quick responses... I can fire off a thank you note, now! ;-)

Hmmmm, portulaca crossed my mind too. Similar, not quite the same as I've seen, but there are so many varieties/hybrids these days, who can keep up?!

Yep, maybe a portulaca of some variety ...

I had one that looked like that last year and was told it was a portulaca.

It is purslane. One of my favorites for hot summer sun locations.
It's only drawback in ground or pot is the flowers close up tight before sundown and while it's still light out in the evenings, the plants are quite low and ordinary looking.
In sloped soil,full sun and planted then watered with Miracle Grow (once,at planting) each plant will form a mat of color at least 2' wide or wider but only central rooting.
Each piece that falls off in planting (they're pretty fragile) can be stuck in potting soil kept moist or simply in a glass of water and root easily for more plants.

Yes, ornamental purslane, but it is a showier cultivar, I really think it might be 'Rio Orange'.

Here is a link that might be useful: the wild species of Portulaca oleracea

Hi again... I'm confused! The link above from gusolie indicates my purslane wants moist, well drained soil, but another response I got on the Name that Plant forum said it was a succulent and hated a lot of water.

Should I infer from the two pieces of info that the plant needs to be well drained and soil kept slightly damp, or well drained and allowed to dry out between waterings?

For now, I plan to keep it in the container, but may move it later to the sunnier side of my garden ("sunnier" being a relative term in my yard!). I have two more questions:

1 - Will this plant grow well in my sandy, acidic soil?
2 - Will it over-winter in my mild climate? (Here, winter nighttime temps seldom drop below 20 degrees, and that doesn't happen often.)

Thanks for all the help, guys! BTW - let me say now that GW, and particularly this forum, has helped me turn my "sand pit" into a lovely green space. Couldn't have done it without you! ;-))

Purslane is a bit of a weed- so it's fairly tough. I have seen it melt when given too much moisture, so i'd stay a bit on the dry side, but not as much as most succulents. I think it would grow well in sand. This kind hasn't been hardy for me, even in a cold frame or basement so i'm sure it wouldn't be outside. You could try bringing some branches in the house as a houseplant, but i think it would pine for sun. Worth a shot, though.

I had some growing in my yard and NEVER watered it. I lived in Florida and we had a rainy season. rained every afternoon then everything dried up. it was a pretty hardy plant spread like crazy and looked so pretty. I had different colors.

Purslane is drought toloerant, but it can also easily cook and shrivel in hot, dry conditions that are too hot and dry.

In the heat of summer, succulents benefit from moist sandy conditions (fast draining soils). You get better growth from succulents; however too moist of soil in winter or when heat and intense light are lacking, succulents will readily rot.

sorry, to answer your specific questions:

yes, chances are the plant WILL grow fine in your acidic sandy soils (if it is not bone dry in summer). Remember all the comments--moist, well-draining, let it dry out between waterings (but don't stress it out and treat it like a desert saguaro and let soil get hot and bone dry).

and no, purslanes, at least this tropical species will turn to mush in temps much below 31 F, but it may re seed itself well and sprout back every spring if it is in a perfect spot in the zone 8 garden.

Thanks for all the great answers! I would have replied earlier but the fourm wouldn't show up in my browser... looks like they got that problem fixed, though.

Thanks again... y'all are the best! ;-)

claudia, if you're going to keep the purslane in the pot and you keep feeding it to keep in ever-flowering you are going to have to water it frequently.
Kept in the pot, you're going to want to keep pinching it back otherwise it gets barren in the center as the plant grows longer.
Remember that the pot drains and the potting soil such as it is doesn't hold much water for long.
As the plants grow a mature root system, they will want more water.
Planting them in the ground is a whole 'nuther thing. If you don't have well-draining soil and you don't have a sloped area, try mounding up the soil and planting them a bit higher ..a bit..like an inch higher than normal.

So, it's not just the plant but where you plant it that dictates how much watering is needed.

I've just had the chance to get back here but wanted to thank everyone again for the help... I've followed all advice and the purslane is blooming beautifully in its container.

And dottie - you're right... if it doesn't rain I have to water it as much as my impatiens!

There are a lot of plants that prefer to get watered every day but hate to sit in damp soil. It makes life hard but if you add a lot of coarse pine bark mulch or permatil into your soil it can help, as does mounding up soil so that water always drains away.

Most greenhouse grown plants are planted in a fast draining soil-less mix and if you keep it in that pot it should do fine, if you want to plant it in the ground you'll want to ammend the soil with something to fluff it up.

We have wild purslanes that will cross with these ornamental versions - next year some of your weeds might have brighter colors.

They can be tricky to overwinter.

Hey, and don't forget that purslanes are entirely edible.