Hello First of all, my apologies for the terrible photo, hence the title "A difficult one". This has been a puzzle to me for far too long now. This beautiful little plant was given to me by my niece who grew it especially for me at school. Sadly, I no longer have it as it lived a year then died, but I would absolutley love to replace it. It is like a mini creeper with long really bright pink (cerise) stems with a silvery hair coating them. The leaves are tiny and bright green and very fleshy feeling. It flowered very late in the year with each tiny pastel coloured bloom being a different colour. Please help me to identify this plant, then I can do a little research on it and keep it in tip top conditions. Thank you.
Hmm. Perhaps a species of Sedum? Could your niece, or her teacher, give you any ID clues? Welcome to the Forum, Sharon!
Were the flowers mostly yellow at first, then pink? Hard to tell, but I think this is Portulaca oleracea. There are cultivars with pink or salmon colored flowers, but even the common yellow flower will age to pink at least some of the time. Very easy to grow, often has red stems, and leaves are succulent.
Thanks for your replies so far. Unfortunatley, my niece no longer goes to the same school so I cannot ask the teacher for any guidance here. I had a look at the Portulaca Oleracea as suggested, but its definately not that. When I say it has Pink stems, I mean there is no doubting that these are bright Cerise pink, with silvery hairs all over, definatley not red. I had many more far better photos but I recently had my laptop stolen that contained a lot of plant photograhs that I hadnt backed up yet. The flowers were various colours. There were a few pinks and salmon coloured buds with the occasional very bright pink flower thrown in. When the flowers opened they were quite like the Ice Plant in appearance, but no two flower buds opened in the same colour. Sort of daisy like without the huge center. Oh and thank you for my warm welcome!
Just a long shot ... does Dorotheanthus bellidiformis look like it? It comes in many colours. Previously Mesembryanthemum. Is this the shape of the flower or not? http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantcd/dorotheanthusbell.htm
Hi Silver Surfer Yes, that is the shape of the flower, although they are very small. It is very similar to the Mesembryanthemum in the flower shape but its the stems and the foilage thats throwing me off. The plant overall has a hairy edge to it and the flowering period is very short, as in each bud lasted just over 2 days. Oh, its driving me crazy trying to work out what it is! :)
