Hardiness zones
Sunset 5-24
USDA 7 - 11
Landscape Use: Mesic ground cover, accent plant for shaded areas in the lower desert, indoor mall and atriums plantings
Form & Character: Evergreen vine, trailing prostrate
Growth Habit: Stoloniferous, running on the ground surface and rooting at nodes.
Foliage/Texture: Opposite, elliptic to ovate medium to dark green leaves, 3-5" long, veins pronounced; medium texture.
Flowers & Fruits: Powder blue flowers in axillary meristems, fruit inconspicuous.
Seasonal Color: Flowers in spring, though shady conditions that are required to grow Vinca in Phoenix limit its flower potential.
Temperature: If in the shade in Phoenix, then Vinca major is tolerant of desert temperatures extremes.
Light: Partial to full shade best, and absolutely NO western sun in Phoenix.
Soil: Tolerant
Watering: In Arizona regular and frequent irrigations are needed. It does take some drought in higher elevation locations.
Pruning: One can mow every 18 to 24 months to induce vigor.
Propagation: Cutting in late summer
Disease and pests: None
Additional comments: This is a difficult plant to effectively use in Phoenix due to heat and sun sensitivities. In the Southwest and western US, periwinkle will normally generally yellow during the dry summers and can freeze to the ground in higher elevations during winter. The cultivar 'Variegata' has white leaf margins and is very
popular in large indoor situations such as malls and atriums. Vinca minor (little leaf periwinkle) is less vigorous species and better suited for small
shaded spaces and diffusely, naturally-lighted atriums.
Invasive Alert: In many areas of the US, Vinca major has become an invasive species. In higher elevations of Arizona between 4,000 and 8,000 feet and in moist wooded canyons, hillsides, and valleys of southern to northern Califonia, Vinca major is fully capapable of naturalizing. It can be effectively controlled by hand weeding (EXTREMELY labor intensive) or by use of a combination of glyphosate and triclopyr herbicides during mid summer.
