Greater periwinkle

Sun

Partial shade to full shade; tolerates full sun where the soil stays moist.

Water

Water regularly while establishing. Established plants tolerate some drought in shade, but prolonged dryness can scorch leaves and reduce flowering.

Soil

Adaptable to most well-drained soils, including clay, loam and sandy soil improved with organic matter. Avoid persistently waterlogged ground.

Height

0.5-1.5 ft (0.15-0.45 m)

Spread

3-8 ft (0.9-2.4 m), eventually wider wherever stems can root

Flowers

Violet-blue, five-lobed flowers mainly in spring, with scattered flowers into summer and sometimes autumn.

Foliage

Evergreen. Opposite, glossy, dark green, broadly oval leaves with fine hairs along their edges. Variegated forms have cream or yellow markings.

Growth

Fast

Care needed

High

• Pollinators
• Deer resistant
• Drought tolerant
• Heat tolerant
• Low allergen

Northern hemisphere months. In Australia, shift them by six.

Difficulty

Moderate

Toughness

Very tough

Pick your zone, country, light and whether you have pets.

1. Planting day

   0.2 ft (0.08 m)

2. After 1 year

   0.7 ft (0.21 m)

3. After 2 years

   1 ft (0.3 m)

   full size

About 2 years to full size.

From a typical nursery size, at an average rate for this kind of plant. A rule of thumb, not a forecast.

Cats and dogs

Toxic

Invasive in

the US and Australia

In the garden

Spreads vigorously: plan to contain it.

Growth rate

Fast

• Check local invasive-plant advice before planting; choose a different groundcover where escape is a concern.
• Water during dry spells through the first growing season, allowing the surface soil to dry slightly between waterings.
• Apply a thin layer of compost in spring if growth is weak; routine fertiliser is usually unnecessary.
• Inspect bed edges regularly and remove runners before they root beyond the intended area.
• Keep stems and cuttings out of garden-waste piles near natural areas; dispose of them through an approved local weed-waste route.

Pruning. After the main spring flowering, shear back straggly growth to encourage fresh shoots. Throughout the growing season, lift and remove escaping stems together with every rooted node.

Early spring

Remove winter-damaged stems and check for runners spreading beyond the bed.

Spring

Where planting is appropriate, plant into moist soil and water thoroughly.

Late spring

Trim after the main flowering flush and collect all cut stems.

Summer

Check edges frequently, lift rooted runners and water during prolonged drought.

Autumn

Remove growth advancing into neighbouring beds, hedges or natural vegetation.

Winter

Check that containers drain freely and keep trailing stems from touching surrounding soil.

• Use in a contained shaded bed beside paving, where its evergreen leaves provide a continuous green surface.
• Grow in a raised container for trailing foliage, keeping stems clear of soil where they could root.
• Combine with substantial ferns and shrubs in an enclosed courtyard; avoid small woodland plants that it can smother.
• Use beneath established shrubs in formal, regularly inspected beds, only where local invasive guidance permits.

Garden styles it suits: Traditional, Modern courtyard, Green on green and Winter interest.

Plant it with: Hart's-tongue fern, Soft shield fern, Japanese aucuba and Camellia.

Wildlife: Flowers provide some nectar and pollen for visiting insects. Escaped mats can displace native ground flora and reduce habitat diversity, outweighing that limited benefit.

• Uncontrolled spread: stems root wherever nodes touch soil; remove rooted sections promptly and replace the plant if containment becomes impractical.
• Stem blight or leaf spots: cut out affected growth, remove debris and improve airflow; avoid wetting foliage when watering.
• Root rot in wet soil: improve drainage and reduce watering; remove badly affected plants.
• Winter scorch: cold wind and frozen soil can brown leaves; use a sheltered position and trim damaged growth in spring.

All parts contain toxic alkaloids and are poisonous if eaten by people, cats, dogs or horses. Ingestion can cause vomiting, diarrhoea and potentially serious effects on blood pressure, the heart or nervous system; seek medical or veterinary advice promptly after suspected ingestion.

Where it spreads. Spreads aggressively through rooting stems and dumped garden waste. Recognised as invasive in California and parts of the southeastern United States, and escapes in western Oregon. It is also an environmental weed in parts of Australia, including New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania. It can spread outside gardens in southwestern British Columbia and in the UK;

• Lesser periwinkle (Vinca minor)

  Has smaller, narrower leaves with hairless margins, smaller flowers and generally lower growth; greater periwinkle has broader leaves with finely hairy edges.

• Madagascar periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus)

  An upright, frost-tender bedding plant with conspicuously pale leaf midribs and commonly pink or white flowers, rather than long, rooting evergreen runners.

The epithet major means 'larger', distinguishing its larger leaves and flowers from those of lesser periwinkle.

Propagation. Rooted stems can be lifted and divided in spring or autumn, and non-flowering stem cuttings root readily. Propagate only where cultivation is permitted and containment is practical.

Accepted botanical name

Vinca major

In the US and Canada

Introduced in Canada and the lower 48 states.

Native range

Albania, Bulgaria, East Aegean Is., France, Italy, Kriti, Lebanon-Syria, North Caucasus, Sardegna, Sicilia, Transcaucasus and Turkey.

Measured

Average height 40 cm.

Sources: GBIF (CC BY 4.0), USDA PLANTS and Trefle (CC BY 4.0). The care and design notes are LandscapeGPT's own.