Growing periwinkle step by step

Lesser periwinkle (Vinca minor), also known as periwinkle only is a useful plant that you should plant at areas where you want to prevent weed growth. Periwinkle is not demanding plant and will even grow in spots where other plants cannot. Purple flowers are typical, but they can also be white or blue. Flowers resemble little stars, leaves are evergreen, sometimes with a touch of white, yellow or beige colour.

Smaller and larger periwinkle

The most popular species are (Vinca minor) and larger v(Vinca major). The larger one grows really fast and may even be a problem after a while. Both species grow well in stony soils that are not very nutritious. The smaller one grows slower, which gives you a chance to control it better. Vinca major produces very long shoots that take root anywhere they touch the ground. The biggest problem is that periwinkle competes with other plants that you grow in your garden and that is something you will not appreciate.

Photo: Pixabay

Suitable location

You can grow periwinkle anywhere. It will do fine in shady or sunny places, but when exposed to the sun it produces more flowers. Periwinkle grows well under trees or bushes and suppress weed growth. If you want to cover areas where other flowers refuse to grow, plant periwinkle. It is very likely that periwinkle will solve this problem for you. Make sure the soil is moist but permeable, but not surprisingly, even dry or very wet places will not scare it away. It will grow. Maybe not as fast as under ideal conditions, but it will grow.

Planting and caring

The best time for planting is autumn or spring. To make sure that periwinkle takes root as soon as possible, you should work some compost into the soil. Cover the root part of the plant with soil, press down slightly and water thoroughly. When done, the only thing you need to keep in mind is to water it, especially in the summer. Shortly after that fertilizing and watering are not necessary and you do not have to worry about reproduction as it will reproduce by itself. Periwinkle is good in that.

How to limit growth

You will not have any problem with propagation but you may encounter problems if you want to curb its growth. Remember that wherever shoots touch the ground they will take root so, you need to regulate the growth of shoots. You may move shoots where you want them to grow or cut them. No mercy. Remove shoots that have already taken root and you do not want them there. Do not put them in a compost either because they will take root here too. If you cannot control the growth you need to use a chemical weed killer.

Source: https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/grow-plants/how-to-grow-periwinkle/

Preview photo: Pixabay