I'm with you! I'm one of those who love it too for all the reasons you mention. It volunteered in my yard years ago and since then I was able to get a couple more kinds. One is varigated, but doesn't seem to be a very strong grower as yet, another is lime green that I got at a swap, another has larger flowers which open best in part shade, and then there is what I call the regular.

Like you say it volunteers a lot, but it's easy to pull, at least when it is young. There will be a lot of people who say they dislike it immensely, but since I use a lot of thick mulch I don't get it coming up in flower beds, but mostly around the bottom of large pots where it makes a nice always fresh looking filler as gets a little water from what drains from the pots.

I'm one who doesn't like it. I fought it for years in my last garden and was never completely rid of it. I won't let it get started in this one. I closely monitor all trade plants until I'm convinced it hasn't hitchhiked in the pots.
Jim

Jim, hide your eys! ;-) LOL!

Whether you like it or not probably depends on the style of garden you have. Mine is very casual and cottage garden like. I like anything that's easy to grow in the unimproved areas with my difficult dry rocky black clay dirt.

I appreciate the green around the bottom of the pots and airy look of the seeds heads in this photo I took a few minutes ago ...

I love it. It doesn't spread fast in heavily mulched beds, doesn't take up much room or need much water. Love the flowers too.

I would really like to try this species in my garden but have never found it for sale. The owner of one nursery I asked told me it used to be carried there but did not sell very well, so the nursery quit carrying it. Even the native plant specialty nursery I go to didn't have it the last time I checked. I'd collect seed myself but the best populations are on federal land.

It supposedly isn't very invasive in the Lower Rio Grande Valley and grows naturally on more exposed coastal clay dunes just east of our property. Regardless, I plan to try it out in a pot just to be safe if I can find any.

Roselee, love your pictures! What are the white/pink flowers next to the Jewels?

I mulch pretty heavy in most of my garden but do have a swath that isn't, and every spring evening primroses cover the area as well as anything that isn't mulched, then about the time they are done, here come the Jewels of Opar! I guess my garden is pretty casual too, although don't want them intruding on my old garden roses.

Ogrose, your wild flower area sounds beautiful! There is a place for everything, but I agree wild flowers are best when not among the roses! I used compost from my own pile to mix rose soil last winter and am now having lots of canna lilies and malabar spinach come up among the roses from having put put canna and Malabar spinach remains in the pile. I'm transplanting the cannas and pulling and eating the spinach. Those seeds must have a very long life!

The flowers in the picture are John Fanick's Phlox looking very washed out because of the bright light.

ExoticNatives, you won't be 'safe' growing Jewels of Opar in a pot :-) It doesn't spread from the roots, but from the abundant seeds. If you want some seeds just email me through my page.

Here is a link that might be useful: More about Jewels or Opar or Talinum ...

I used to really like it, but it's worse than four o'clocks.
I haven't intentionally grown it for years, and it still comes up everywhere.

I got it when I purchased a rubber tree from the master gardeners plant sale. I did not know what it was until I saw it at the plant swap, Patty had some in a pot. I think it's really pretty, but it takes over. The first year, I loved it, the next year it came up everywhere. Its like purslane, or that purple mexican petunia, it pops up anywhere the wind blows. Roselee likes invasive plants, she wanted the invasive purple passion vine, so I gave her a small root of it, when she came down. Barbra

I agree with ruthz. Mine is in a pot and a pot and a pot and a pot....anything within 25 feet of the mother plant has plants. Anyone want some??? It really is an attractive plant and is easy to care for. I'm in DFW. What are my chances of growing this in-ground rather than a pot?

Weldon, I read on another site, that it comes back every year in Oklahoma, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Dallas. So I would guess your chances are pretty good, or bad, depending on how you look at it, that you will never be shed of it.Ha!Ha!
Jim

Makes good sub for lettece in a salad. Be sure you want it .It will take over area, but easy to control or move to another spot or any pot catches on fast.

I've never been called an orderly gardener but I do have two areas that I like to keep orderly....only two! Why is it JOO always goes there? It is heavily composted and it really multiplies in mushroom compost. Just dug several out and am passing along. I like it other places....just not in my pots...but guess where it tags along for the winter....those pots....great grins not really whining...c

I love Jewels of Opar, and as I will be a Texas gardener soon, I am so glad you can grow it here! :)

Drippy, welcome to Texas gardening! I found out there's lots of plants related to Jewels of Opar. I like it too so we're in luck. Some of the kin are mentioned on the thread "Please ID purple succulent". It turned out it's a relative.

What I like about it is in August when everything looks fried, Jewels of Opar looks so fresh and green.

One of the first plants Patty gave me was Jewels of Opar. Guess she was pawning it off on me. lol. That was at least 10 years ago.

I got it from plants from Ragna , it is all over in McDade now, the gophers couldn't even keep up with it
When we moved I saw one in one pot, now......lol
It is pretty tho

Bill, do you eat it? I've read that talinum is eaten in Africa, but wondered if it was a different plant than our Jewels of Opar.

We have a few chartreuse-colored 'Limón' talinums obtained as stow-aways in last year's plant purchases. Haven't found the right spot for them yet, but has been worth it to see the miniature bees it attracts that just fit inside it's tiny flowers. The plants with a bit of shade maintain more uniform color, older leaves on those in full sun seem to fade (burn?) a bit.

Picking up an old thread. Anyone to trade jewel-of-opar lime green? I have several veggie/flower seeds to trade.Thanks

Jey, The lime green color comes true from seed, but just to be sure I've removed the dark green leaved ones. I'll be happy to mail seeds when I have them. That goes for anyone else as well. They are up, but not flowering yet. I see your Houzz message system is set up so I've made a note to contact you.

Thanks roselee. I am in 8a Texas. When seeds are ready please get in touch with me. Appreciate it very much. I ran into this plant when looking for spinach alternatives to grow in the TX heat. In addition to Ceylon spinach, Brazilian spinach, this showed up - all succulent and substituted for spinach. Ceylon spinach looks beautiful too, but Jewels of Opar takes the prize! Thanks again.

Jey, the lime green cultivar doesn't grow as fast and as large as the dark green leafed one or another taller one that I used to grow. Although I emptied the pots it was in it may still come up in the vicinity. If I have seeds of those I'll send them since you want them to eat.

That's very thoughtful of you roselee! Appreciate it very much. I had not known the difference between the two other than appearance from what I had read. Sure, the lime green looks so pretty against the jewels, but if u find seeds for the other variety too, it will make it faster to the table :) Thanks again