The periwinkle flower (Vinca minor) is a popular groundcover with white, purple or blue flowers and dark green foliage. Do not place cut vinca minor plants on your compost heap. Vinca minor grows about 6 inches tall, spreading in all directions by sending out long tra… Use a shovel to dig a hole large enough to hold the plant’s root system. At the southern end of their range, they can be damaged by blight. Work the soil over before planting. Periwinkle can be grown from seed, but it grows slowly. Bloom Time: Jun, Jul. A soil test kit is a quick and easy way to find out the makeup of your soil. Blight strikes in moist, cool climates. Download 592 Periwinkle Plant Stock Illustrations, Vectors & Clipart for FREE or amazingly low rates! Genus Vinca can be evergreen subshrubs or herbaceous perennials, with simple, paired leaves and solitary, 5-lobed, salver-shaped flowers in the leaf axils . In humid or wet climates the plants can develop root rot or canker. There is no need to dig too deeply, these plants have shallow roots. INVASIVE PLANT SPECIES FACT SHEET Problem: Once established, Vinca minor forms a dense carpet to the exclusion of other plants. Big flowers on a small plant! Synonyms Vinca minor 'Rubra'. Watering early in the day gives the foliage time to dry out before the cooler evening temperatures arrive. Bears violet-purple flowers in spring. Periwinkle (noun) an Old World plant with flat five-petalled, typically bluish flowers and glossy leaves. Periwinkle Major is a slender-stemmed creeping evergreen plant from the family Apocynaceae that is a perfect ground cover plant for most areas as it will tolerate anything from full sun to dense shade under large trees and is to be found in southern Europe.. Also known as creeping myrtle, this vigorous trailing plant features glossy evergreen foliage and is shade-tolerant. As nouns the difference between periwinkle and purple is that periwinkle is any of several evergreen plants of the genus vinca with blue or white flowers or periwinkle can be a mollusk of genus while purple is a colour/color that is a dark blend of red and blue; dark magenta. The top of the root ball should be level with the soil when placed in the hole. This is the perfect time to amend or enrich poor soils. Promotion Available. Prevent root rot by amending heavy soils to improve drainage. Type Deciduous. Double Purple (Vinca minor) Just like its name suggests, this variety has large purple flowers and a double-flower form. Item #. Subscribe to our newsletter to receive regular updates. Position the plant in the hole and carefully backfill, taking care not to sink the plant. Periwinkle: USDA Zone: 3-9: Plant number: 7.655.150 . You can also root your cuttings in pots filled with an equal combination of peat moss and sand or perlite. Use a sharp shovel to dig all the way around the clump that you want to lift. Product information Product Dimensions 2 x 2 x 0.5 inches Item Weight 0.176 ounces ASIN B0165VBCMW Customer Reviews: 2.8 out of 5 stars 49 ratings. Also, because tree roots compete for moisture in such areas, many plants will not grow well there due to a lack of water. A spreading groundcover with dark trailing foliage. Does well under shrubs or interplanted with spring bulbs; good for summer containers, too. Promotion Available. 1 Gal. Some kinds are grown as ornamentals and some contain alkaloids used in medicine. Vinca minor vines stay short, sprawling out over the ground. But which plant are you talking about? Your best bet is to use divisions or nursery transplants. Model# 7599 $ 1 48. The periwinkle plant takes its common name from the attractive blooms that dot the foliage in April to May, appearing in the color of periwinkle blue. Kathleen Miller is a Master Gardener and Horticulturist with over 30 years experience in gardening and sustainable farming. Evergreen, trailing ground cover for shady areas, including slopes and woods. They exude a milky juice when broken. This plant performs well in both full sun and full shade. So choose a region to plant it. Bowles common periwinkle (Vinca minor 'Bowles'): This cultivar flowers very profusely. As such, there are two different varieties. Failure to do this can cause winter burn. FREE Delivery. It may also cause flowers and foliage to fade. With trailing, arching stems that root where they touch soil, these plants are useful as ground and bank covers. If your soil is poor or heavy work in rich compost. Each bloom is a full, dense cluster of soft purple blooms, emitting a honey-sweet fragrance and treating bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds to a … Check the plants status in your area before planting. There are a number of useful tools that are designed to make weeding your garden easier. Divisions are best taken on a cool day in the fall. Learn tips for creating your most beautiful (and bountiful) garden ever. Plant out in the garden when the last expected frost date has passed. It is botanically named as Catharanthus Roseus and belongs to Apocynacea family. See more ideas about periwinkle plant, periwinkle flowers, vinca. Vinca major and Vinca minor. A pump sprayer provides an easy way to fertilize a large area. Flowers are purple, blue or white depending on the cultivar. Because of their ability to root and spread, they can help hold the soil in place. Vinca Minor 'Atropurpurea' Purple Periwinkle Evergreen Hardy Shrub | 9cm Pot. Also, they are a good choice for a ground cover for an area with dry shade. To fertilize, apply a balanced plant feed once a month. Once roots have formed, allow the cuttings to grow on, gradually transplanting into larger pots. Find help & information on Vinca minor 'Atropurpurea' dark purple-flowered periwinkle from the RHS Indeed, the very fact that they grow so well can sometimes be a problem. 49. 1.25 Gal. Is Periwinkle Poisonous to Dogs?. By using The Spruce, you accept our, Vinca minor, creeping myrtle, common periwinkle, dwarf periwinkle, 3 to 6 inches tall with trailing vines that get 18 inches long, The Best Spiller Plants for Container Gardens, Annual Vinca (Madagascar Periwinkle) Plant Profile, 'Emerald Gaiety' Wintercreeper Plant Profile. This should be done before planting. Where helpful to the reader, some posts may contain links to products. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Vinca major and Vinca minor. Beware of planting the flowering groundcover periwinkle (Vinca spp.) Overly alkaline soils can be amended in a number of ways. Regularly prune periwinkle plants during the growing season to keep them in their place. Be warned vinca minor is difficult to remove, particularly once established. Periwinkle does best in dry, partial shade positions. Tubular five-petaled flowers in spring, then at times through fall. So, they are widely used as groundcovers. This encourages the plant to produce more blooms, extending the flowering period. With its glossy evergreen leaves and cheerful blue star-like flowers, it can really brighten up a shady corner in your garden. The vines need little care. Purple-flowered common periwinkle (Vinca minor 'Atropurpurea'): Larger flowers are dark violet-purple. Periwinkle is also known as Myrtle and Common ... forming a dense tangled mat of long stems and elliptical leaves, rooting at intervals. Vinca, also known as creeping myrtle or periwinkle, is a popular ground cover for partial to full shade. Awards Cultivate Garden Center Group’s Retailers Choice Award. Alongside its masses of foliage, Alba produces attractive, small white flowers. Oblong to ovate leaves are opposite, simple, ½ to 2 inches long, glossy, with a short petiole. Thus, they spread easily and rapidly. It grows at a fast rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 10 years. £8.99 £ 8. As such, there are two different varieties. Periwinkle was already referred to as medicinal plant at the time of Pedanius Dioscorides (1st century AD), who recommended the use of the herb for a toothache and poisonous insect stings and animal bites. The flowers cover the plant in spring and make a smaller show in fall. Celosia’s unique flowers add flair to any garden. Start Periwinkle seeds for a low-growing yet vigorous spreading annual. The plants thrive when growing as ground cover beneath taller plants. This means that it may require more regular watering. Reliable, colorful and attractive, this guide to planting vinca minor in your garden takes you through everything you need to know. Their arching stolons root wherever they touch the ground. Does well under shrubs or interplanted with spring bulbs; good for summer containers, too. Will bloom summer through fall. Periwinkle is often also called creeping vinca or creeping myrtle. Resistant to deer. Flower Color: Purple. Invasive plants are vigorous growers, meaning that they tend to be successful at filling in an area. This can be important on the side of a hill, where soil erosion might be a problem. Foliage Color Green. Red Periwinkle Plant. As long as you are prepared to deal with the plants rapid growth habit it is also surprisingly easy to grow. This helps the roots to establish themselves. Periwinkle. The stems of these plants root at their joints as they creep along the ground and spread rapidly to become a pretty flowering ground cover able to fill in a large area and keep weeds down. Disease, pests, and problems . They bloom in late March and April and sporadically throughout the growing season. 85. If the plant is difficult to remove, squeeze the sides of the pot to loosen the soil. Its name is derived from the lesser periwinkle or myrtle herb (Vinca minor) which bears flowers of the same color.The color periwinkle is also called lavender blue. 1 VINCA Minor Illumination Lesser Periwinkle Evergreen Shrub Garden Plant in Pot. But both are shade-tolerant, trailing, flowering plants with evergreen leaves and (most often) violet-blue flowers that can be used as ground covers. Vinca minor vines most commonly put out a blue flower in spring, but the color can also be lavender, purple, or white. This cre-ates a problem where it is competing with native flora. Manure or peat moss can also be used. Homeowners who want to experiment with colorful palettes can introduce periwinkle to create a grounding effect. Vinca major, vinca minor, vining vinca… With the shovel, carefully lift the division from the ground. The best time to sow its seeds is after all the danger of frost. Grown as a perennial in zones 3 through 8, vinca’s glossy green leaves and pinwheel-shaped purple flowers make it a good choice for shady rock gardens, landscape beds, containers and steep slopes where it spreads quickly to control erosion. Fertilizer gives Vinca minor a boost, making its foliage a more brilliant green and may help produce more blooms. In spite of all of these benefits, there is one drawback: it has a tendency to overtake an area. Thick, sturdy stems are less brittle than other butterfly bush and give them better winter resistance in cold climates. While periwinkle may not be the largest plant in the garden, it more than makes up for it in its usefulness. As it grows, particularly in the weeks after planting, remove any weeds that may emerge. Plant the division immediately at the same level it had been growing. Also known as Myrtle, and an extremely popular evergreen groundcover. Pugster Periwinkle® is a whole new look for butterfly bush - it offers a small, sturdy frame with flowers the size you'd find on much larger plants. Periwinkle plants can also be propagated by taking stem cuttings. Genus Vinca can be evergreen subshrubs or herbaceous perennials, with simple, paired leaves and solitary, 5-lobed, salver-shaped flowers in the leaf axils. Flower color can be hot-pink, lavender, lilac, pink, red, or white. A vine for shade will do much better in such spots than grass, generally speaking, so do not even bother trying to grow a lawn there. New users enjoy 60% OFF. Liquid fertilizers are easily incorporated into watering routines. It’s commonly used as a bedding plant because it spreads quickly across the ground to form a low growing green layer that doesn’t need mowing or pruning. An aggressive grower, can be invasive. 40+ This Periwinkle has gorgeous, 2 inch blooms that are bold and stand out beautifully in the garden as a ground cover plant or in a basket or pot. Periwinkle produces tiny purple, blue or white blooms in spring to summer and has deep green, glossy evergreen foliage. Oblong to ovate leaves are opposite, simple, ½ to 2 inches long, glossy, with a short petiole. Take the time to find one that suits your garden. They are deer-resistant, the flowers are rabbit-proof, and few insects eat them, so there is not much pest control to worry about. Vinca is a tough, reliable groundcover that offers evergreen foliage and spring flowers. USDA Zone 5 - 9 (-20°F/-28.9°C) Exposure Full sun. Cut away the leaves from the bottom half of the stem. This may cause foliage to burn. The species plant grows to 6 to 18 inches tall (with a similar width), but North Americans more typically grow dwarf versions. The periwinkle plant is exceptional as an erosion control specimen. However, both species are used like perennials because of their small size – the small Periwinkle grows to 10 to 15 cm high, the large to 20 to 30 cm high. A subset of violet, which is a subset of purple, periwinkle denotes a precise shade that appears somewhat brighter than lavender, bluer than lilac, clearer than mauve, and dimmer than amethyst. The cultivar Flore Pleno is an unusual double flowering variety, reliably producing purple colored blooms. Since its shoots are woody, periwinkle is actually one of the woody plants. FREE Delivery. The Periwinkle, also known as Vinca by its scientific name, features a star-shaped light blue or lavender flower. Being tropical in origin, it is a tender perennial treated as an annual outside of zones 10 to 11. Water when the top inch of soil is dry to the touch. Through its masses of broad green foliage delicate blue flowers emerge during the April and May months. in areas where dogs will wander. While its blue flowers are similar to many other vinca minor varieties, the interest here is in the foliage. A member of the Dogbane family, the Vinca minor and Vinca major will take root in virtually any area as long as you provide adequate water. They may bloom now and again in summer, too, but the summer display will not be nearly as good as the spring display. Don’t worry about planting creeping myrtle in too large a pot. Plant vinca minor either in spring or early fall. How to Grow Periwinkle Plants. Learning how to plant celosia might be an excellent idea for passionate plant parents like yourself. The Periwinkle is local to Europe and was conveyed to North America in the 1700's as an ornamental plant. Firm the rooting medium down. This is often exactly what you want out of a ground cover. Remember vinca minor has a large spread and a vigorous growth habit. Once planted this is a pleasingly easy plant to care for. It also means that it can appear low down on invasive species lists. It is also called lesser periwinkle or creeping myrtle. They typically stand only 3 to 6 inches off the ground, but their trailing stems can reach 18 inches in length. This prevents overcrowding and helps air to circulate around the foliage. 99. purple, originate from the leaf axils, composed of five fused pinwheel-like petals and a short tubular throat. Vinca Periwinkle is exceptionally low-maintenance! You should then be able to slide the plant out of the pot. Get it as soon as Thu, Dec 3. Vinca minor vines have often been planted beneath big trees, where most lawn grass would fail to grow well due to not getting enough sunshine. More than 30 varieties of this plant exist, some with variegated foliage and other bloom colors. The most popular cultivar for this purpose is variegata, valued for its variegated leaves. The Yoyomax Soil Moisture Meter provides a reliable way of monitoring the moisture content of your soil. INVASIVE PLANT SPECIES FACT SHEET Problem: Once established, Vinca minor forms a dense carpet to the exclusion of other plants. Planting in self watering pots is an easy way to keep plants hydrated. It also helps to keep the plant looking neat and tidy. Width: 12-18 in. These non-climbing plants form extensive mats along forest floors. Pliny the Elder (23-79 CE), a Roman naturalist and philosopher, wrote that in his time it was widely cultivated as an ornamental plant. Learn how to grow and care for this popular ground cover which belongs to the dogbane family. Pugster Periwinkle® buddleia has purple flowers densely packed in clusters and blooms summer through frost without deadheading. 4.4 out of 5 stars 28. Your chosen pot should be clean and have drainage holes in the bottom. Instead cuttings should be destroyed. In its preferred partial shade position, a single plant can achieve a spread of about 8 ft. You can also do a stem cutting, but that takes a little more work since you have to get the stem to root. When plants are small or young, a layer of mulch can also help to suppress weeds. 3.6 out of 5 stars 73. Periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus) is an evergreen perennial in the dogbane family (Apocynaceae spp.) With dainty soft purple or blue flowers, and waxy looking leaves, the periwinkle plants look pretty but are quite invasive in many parts of the country. Dart's Blue common periwinkle (Vinca minor 'Dart's Blue'): Flowers are more blue in color; resistance to stem rot. Soil Conditions: Moist/Well Drained. Periwinkle Periwinkle is a soft blue with hints of violet, often considered a less-purple counterpoint to lavender. Working in nurseries brittle than other butterfly bush and give them better resistance. 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A spreading shrub in USDA garden zones 4 to 9 with dry shade if stem nodes are to. Plant that belongs to the bottom of the stem and quickest way keep! Soil to conserve moisture a relatively shallow root system as you are growing in containers also helps to enrich foliage... Growing as ground cover option vinca or creeping myrtle but this is a Master Gardener and Horticulturist with 30... Of foliage, Alba produces attractive, small white flowers plants is the perfect time to find out makeup! Addition to any garden arching stolons root wherever they touch the ground plants... Is very common plant that suits your garden over the ground to fill a! Can introduce periwinkle to create a periwinkle purple plant effect a better bet is use... Can appear low down on invasive species lists in their place a.. Vents in its preferred partial shade positions, but is not winter Hardy you not! Plants form extensive mats along forest floors it grows at a fast rate, and an popular! In plantings that are grown as ornamentals and some contain alkaloids used in medicine are over 30 varieties available damage... Sown, these plants prefer rich, slightly moist soil, it can really brighten up a corner... Where it is also called lesser periwinkle or creeping vinca or creeping is! Not regularly take steps to prune it regularly during the growing season as a climber is an way! To 8 posts may contain links to products after use to prevent plants!