mystery plant in CT

[sumarty]

hi,
this is my first post. I live in CT and have a mystery plant that started growing in a pot I had outside. At first it looked like an evergreen....just spikey leaves growing. then it started to branch out and got rather dense within a month. Then pretty yellow flowers began to bloom with red inner parts. The leaves appear to be succulent....spikey and thick. I have attached some photos.
Any clues? thank you.

[AstusAleator]

Is this a horticultural plant that was planted in the pot or perhaps volunteered?

[sumarty]

it just appeared....it started growing in the pot that is next to it. I had that plant inside until after memorial day and then put it out on the deck. That plant is tropical...a fern like thing. Then after a couple of weeks the mystery plant sprouted and I transplanted it to it's current pot when it started to looked interesting. usually just weeds or grasses spontaneously sprout in my pots but this is the first time I got something that has flowers.

[AstusAleator]

Well it certainly doesn't look native to CT, and probably not native to the northern states. The succulent leaves indicate it comes from a drier hotter climate, and the multiplicity of the petals indicates it's a horticultural variety.

[sumarty]

it seems to be a Portulaca, or moss rose. I like the idea it just floated down on my deck and sprouted. I hope I can get some seeds from it for next year.