These I found in backyard and in pots. Am trying to re--plant under azalea bushes on steep hill. Is this the variegated vinca minor?
And by planting this on steep hill will this prevent soild from draining too much in rainy season? It does rain here sometimes, right
too funny yes it does rain here sometimes.
yes it is vinca minor varigated form.
i dont know about the drainage issue but it can become rampant if not controlled.
It may be vinca major. Hard to tell the difference between the two at times.
looks like vinca major, to me too.BTW, is there a varagated vinca minor?I,m not sure. Mike
It's great for a few years if you need cover but then it will take over...
Brenda
http://davesgarden.com/pf/showimage/4660/
yes there is avarigated one. i used to have one before we moved.
Uuh, so it IS a variegated vinca-minor. What gives with that "other" name though..... Flower of Death??? is there something about this that I should know about??
It re-planted welll in any case. It sits straight up looking prim as if it always lived there. I will trim it regularly then, before it gets out of control.
There are many types of vinca. Minor and Major. That includes different forms of variegation. Vinca minor creates a thick mat ground cover. You either love it or hate it. To me it is a great ground cover but it can creep into places you don't want it to grow (like any creeping grass or ground cover). Do not plant it near creeping phlox for example - it will easily take over this beautiful flowering ground cover. It certainly is a lot better behaved than ivy which grows up trees as well as taking over the back 40. Vinca major on the other hand has larger leaves (I think that is what you have) and longer internodes and can send runners several feet but doesn't create thick mats. It doesn't hug the ground like the minor variety but rather sends wayward branches (like yours) several inches into the air until the weight of the vine brings it back down to earth where it will probably root again. To me it is more managable than the minor variety but if you want a ground cover go with the minor. The minor stuff (at least the solid green type) you would need a shovel to dig out whereas the major (variegated) you can easily cut out with a small hand hoe or trowel.
The variegated major makes for a good trailing plant in a hanging basket (that is how we came about ours in the first place). There are some great looking golden variegated minor types on the market as well and aren't as aggressive as the solid green variety.
We use this vinca for groundcover in our fern garden. The thicker portions of it had blooms all winter which could have been due to the mild winter we had.
Vinca? I have some of that and somebody told me it was periwinkle. So that's what I thought it was. Certainly the flowers do a good job of dyeing anything they touch (when wet).
Okay I must have it backwards. I thought the Vinca Major was the ground cover, which I have tried to plant in areas that I want covered quickly. I have variegated and solid green. It (I thought) is a perennial. Then the Vinca Minor, I thought, was the annual that you can usually buy in flats like most annuals, usually in purple, white and dark pink, that love the heat and are drought resistant, that I use to cover the "feet " of my Dahlias and Lilies. I cannot find any of the latter quite yet in nurseries, and am getting frustrated as they are one of my favorites and a totally carefree plant! I found boucoups of the Vinca ground cover at Lowes today, but I already found a wonderful (free) source for all I want of that. Guess I'll keep checking for the other.
Susan
Vinca (major and minor - refers to the size of the leaves and plant) are commonly called periwinkle and are perennial ground covers. Catharanthus roseus (the annual that blooms all summer) is commonly called vinca / periwinkle probably because the blooms look similar to the perennial vinca. They are all in the same family - Apocynaceae which include trees, shrubs, vines, and herbs (according to Wikipedia).
Catharanthus is probably called vinca (or periwinkle) because it is a lot easier to pronounce and spell than the botanical name. (It is for me at least).
Vinca minor is also known as lesser periwinkle and vinca major as greater periwinkle (wow, nice to know).
The annuals (catharanthus included) should be coming out soon but I would bet money that you should have beaucoup of them coming up where they grew last year (they can be weedy if you let them go to seed). We used to thin out the new seedlings coming up and keep a few around for summer color (and save a little money at the stores).
I assume the "real" vinca minor can stand half shade well? I replanted some under and in between the azaleas, just to cover up the ground. They look to be doing well in any case, these have been replanted 3 weeks ago and so far still look good.
I have never seen catharanthus ?? an annual. I'll look it up. Especially when it can withstand the heat/sun. I still have a few spots I know need some protection, how heigh does it get?
When I see what hcmcdole refers to as Catharanthus in the garden centers, they have it labeled as Vinca or Periwinkle. I am glad to know this additional info in case I am having trouble finding it later on. I don't care what they call it, I just want it!! LOL!! I usually buy them by the flat in 9 packs, so they are small, but they bloom all summer and by fall they are usually 18" tall unless I have pinched them back. They are so drought tolerant - and they are usually tall enough by the time the Dahlias have emerged to keep their feet the shade. This is probably my favorite annual, Maybe I will have some to return, but nothing has shown up yet, and I mulched pretty heavily in that area. They did so well last year that I want to use them in several other areas this year. Just love 'em!.
This pic is from early last summer.
This one is later on, closer to fall.
Hi, y'all. Haven't been here for a while, but I had to chime in. Love annual vinca, but have learned to hate all of the perennial ones. Yes, the size of the leaves determine whether the plant is vinca major or minor, but I have planted both and regret both. My vinca minor always starts the year going great guns, with its darling little blue flowers, but both spring and fall find it susceptible to stem rot. Expensive to treat, and must be treated after every rain. Thanks to the person who tipped me off to Serenade anti-fungal. The variegated vinca I had looks exactly like the photo Id which began this thread. It has never fulfilled its purpose to be a mounding ground cover (too thin) and has been heading toward the woods, a situation I did not want to be responsible for. FYI, it was sold to me as variegated vinca minor. I just finished pulling the entire bed up, and have been inspecting every day because any small piece sends up new shoots. If I were you, TulipLady, I'd pull that plant up right this minute, before it takes over your life!
Tulip.. know what I use that plant for and it's wonderful in this situation?
My pots! I love the way it spills over the pots of my annuals. When the season is over, I put the pots in the back nursery area and ignore till I'm ready to redo for summer.. They live and come back and I can divide if needed for other pots. I would not directly plant it in my garden either..... unless maybe it was a slope where nothing else in the world would grow.. My neighbor has another type of vinca and I do all I can to keep if off my property.... and the other neighbor had English ivy and I keep that back too.
Susan
Guardians: I want that!!! it will be available in g.centers soon I guess? Good Idea Susan, I brought tons of pots from Holland they can brighten up the deck and maybe some in front of house. It can be sun/half shade??
Soooo, y'all are saying I should NOT plant the "true" vinca in between my bushes to cover up the ground. It is in a spot where I can easily control it. It looks so sweet in springtime with those dark blue/purple flowers..
As far as the English Ivy goes: tell me about it, here's a picture of my front "lawn", half of which I decided to undo of the ivy. I decided I can work only for about 2 hours at it, by that time I might have done 3 square feet! Only 50 sq.feet more to go!
If you want to grow english ivy.. fine, but that's all you will grow in that area.. it is very hard to eradicate.. I've heard that pulling it still leaves roots that come up.. I just weed eat and pull the stuff that comes from my neighbor and have to do it every year.. I'm thinking I might find some wide wooden short fence material and drive it into the ground all the way down this side of my chain link fence.. I want to stop the invasion..
Soooo.. your already saying y'all huh?? :)!!
Susan
Tulip, You rock. I admire your courage, taking on ivy that way. I like my vinca minor when it blooms, too. It is controllable, but difficult. The variegated vinca was in a bed near the woods, so it just had to go. We still have a solid green vinca minor surrounding a rock path, and I do spend time pulling it out of the adjacent grass. Then there's the issue of stem rot. If you decide to go with vinca as a ground cover, I would make sure of two things. First, that it's little feet are high and dry, and second, that you never weed it while the soil is wet. All soil contains fungal agents, and I think that's where mine got the stem rot. This year I am spraying it with Serenade after each rain, and trying to keep my hands off the weeds unless it's dry, dry. (And it does not choke out weeds for me.) I wouldn't plant the stuff again, given what I know now. Good luck, whatever you do. Sheila
Susan, I wonder if that will do you trick. I've found the ivy roots as deep as 5 to 6 ", so you'll need something at least 8-10". Hard work! One of my neighb. told me to cut the ivy off and then dip the ends (long arms) into a Roundup kinda liquid and then it will die off totally.
Sheila, some people might call me stupid, cause when I'm done pull-"ing", I need to be till-"ing" before I can be fill-"ing" with new soil! After which I can be drink-"ing" a glass of white wine, remember that thread?
I'll keep your warning in back of my head though and keep it in check and that one place only.
Here's one more pict. on left is what used to be grass ( now some sort os moss), middle section is what I've done sofar and on right hand side is what still needs tro be done. I LOVE looking at that middle section! In front you see a white azalea, which is the first of a whole row going down path to house. All of the azaleas are swamped into the ivy!
