How to Grow Vinca Major

The periwinkle plant will quickly cover any ground it finds.

Vinca major is better known as the periwinkle plant, growing trailing vines of evergreen leaves and purple flowers that sprout their full color in the spring. Gardeners and landscapers plant Vinca major as a ground cover to provide shade for other plants or to cover decorative areas of the landscape. Vinca major is a low-maintenance plant, requiring only adequate sunlight and water to thrive.

Things You'll Need

• Soil tiller
• Soil amendments
• Cutting

Instructions

1. Till the soil in an area of your garden that receives six hours of sun in the morning and early afternoon. Till to a depth of 8 to 10 inches to eliminate any weed roots and prepare the soil. The vines grow best in part sunlight, but not hot afternoon sun.

2. Mix in 1 to 2 inches of compost or manure to increase drainage in the soil. Till in the amendments to mix them into the soil.

3. Plant your Vinca major cutting 2 to 3 inches deep in the soil. Water the soil well to help the dirt firm up around the cutting.

4. Water the Vinca major once or twice per week, whenever the top 2 inches of soil become dry to the touch. Do not water any more than that; periwinkle is drought-tolerant, but highly susceptible to standing water.

Tips & Warnings

• Vinca major grows best in U.S. Department of Agriculture Plant Hardiness Zones 6 through 9, with average minimum temperatures above minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit.

• Vinca major only propagates by cutting, not by seed.

• As a ground cover, Vinca major can easily overtake and choke out other plants. You must keep careful watch on the Vinca and prune as necessary.

References

• North Carolina State University: Vinca major
• University of Arizona Pima County Cooperative Extension: Vinca major