Vinca Minor Illumination Ground Cover
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Vinca Minor Illumination (Lesser Periwinkle)
These super low maintenance, evergreen plants will quickly cover the soil as highly effective ground cover. The attractive leaves of Vinca Minor Illumination (Lesser Periwinkle) emerge chartreuse green and mature to a rich golden yellow, ovate and narrowly margined with dark green. Violet-blue flowers 2.5cm wide appear over a long period from mid Spring to early Autumn, providing very attractive winter foliage. The flowers are an extremely pretty, 5-petalled, deep violet-blue. These adorn the weed-suppressing carpet of growth to amazing effect and will also attract insects and bees.
Evergreen, and providing year-round interest, Vinca Minor Illumination is the perfect versatile ground cover. Slender-stemmed and creeping, it will thrive in most areas as it will tolerate anything from full sun to dense shade under large trees (though it will flower best in full sun). Try planting under trees, in rockeries, spread over banks, or in drier areas where other plants may struggle including under the canopy of large trees. Alternatively partner with Heuchera and Hosta, or under Azaleas and Rhododendrons.
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This hardy little plant delivers on so many levels! Evergreen, and happy in virtually any soil, Vinca Minor Illumination (Greater Periwinkle) ground cover requires very little maintenance beyond a slight haircut or cut back when it is veering into area where you don’t want it to grow. It can be invasive as due to the creeping nature of the plant, they will self-root where the shoots land. As such they are better placed in larger, perhaps wilder areas of the garden where spreading is not a problem and they will not interfere with other planting. If the plant is looking a little shabby in winter it can be cut back to encourage new growth in spring.
How to grow Vinca Minor Illumination
Position: Full sun, partial shade, full shade
Foliage: Evergreen
Soil and site: Any
Flowering time: Late Spring through to early Autumn
Growth rate: Moderate
Ultimate height and spread: 15cm and to 55cm
Hardiness: Fully Hardy
Aftercare: Water well until established, avoiding soil becoming waterlogged. Trim in early Spring or late Autumn to maintain shape
