vic said:This is the first year I've not done any hanging baskets. I have to water at least 3 times a day and just too much time. Brutal temps here too. Whew...
Bet we don't top our AZ friends though - they are like a 117 
With most plants it is just too hot in Phoenix, and they just die out in the summer, even with 3 waterings a day. But not so with purslane. I water mine once in the morning, and they do fine.
I've experimented with different soils, and they do fine with regular Phoenix dirt, but also do fine with high quality seed starting potting soil. They're not fussy at all. But I have noticed that the ones in plain ordinary dirt do not dry out as fast as the ones in potting soil.
The key seems to be the size of the container when it comes to high heat. In a big container, they thrive because it takes longer for them to dry out. If you don't have a big container, then put them where they can get full morning sun and afternoon shade, and they will do fine in the hot summer temps.
I've noticed that purslane is a fairly heavy feeder. About once a week I give mine Miracle Gro in their water. I tried going without fertilizer for over a month with one of my purslane plants and it produced a huge amount of seeds, and then started to fade off into death, but surprisingly, when I fertilized it with some Miracle Gro it sprang back to life. I think Phoenix soil is very deficient in nutrients.
