Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
mcube_gw

Need Vinca minor?

mcube
13 years ago

I am planning on getting rid of a large area of Vinca minor(Periwinkle). It puts on a major show in spring with beautiful blue flowers. It is ,unfortunately, in a full sun area and I have a lots of other interesting perennials I need to plant in that area over the weekend.

If you want some/lots of Vinca,reply to the thread. I live in westborough and will email you my address. You can come over anytime this saturday and dig it up. I can give you a hand with the digging.

m^3

Comments (14)

  • ellen_s
    13 years ago

    I'll add a small plea to anybody planting vinca...try to plant it in an area that won't allow it to encroach into natural wooded areas....my mother's small woodland which once hosted lady's slippers, wild blueberries and other wild flowers is now reduced to two species of plants...vinca and pachysandra which escaped from her woodland "edge" gardens...

    It's a great groundcover for shade, and its flowers are valuable to early-season pollinators, but be careful what you wish for, because its roots will crawl right into and through other plants and consume them...

  • tree_oracle
    13 years ago

    You just think you're getting rid of it. It will come back with vengence several times before you fully eradicate it. You may have to use some RoundUp on it. It's a great groundcover in a lot of respects but man is it aggressive.

  • prairiemoon2 z6b MA
    13 years ago

    I had a patch of it in my b*ackyard and carefully dug it all out covered the area with cardboard and mulch until I was ready to plant it again and it has not come back at all in a couple of years. Have never used Roundup.

    The only area I still have it is competing with old Maple roots bordered on one side by the street, one side by the driveway and one side by my neighbor's property and a stockade f*ence. It works fine there with an occassional yanking along the fourth side.

  • mcube
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    I have no plans to use roundup on this since I want to plant other perennials immediately. I did not plant these .. just inherited them when we bought the house 5 yrs back. I have been fighting it since then.

    Since no one wants it, I will mow it down real close and start digging. Do you folks think this would make it a little easier for me?

  • tree_oracle
    13 years ago

    That's not going to work. Mowing it down will just make it come back thicker than ever. You have to pull and/or dig it up with as much of the root system as possible. ANY roots that are left will form a new plant in no time.

    BTW, the use of RoundUp does not affect your ability to plant anything new. RoundUp only works when it's directly applied to the plant. It strongly binds to soil particles and becomes unavailable to the plant once it is soil bound. Furthermore, it does not persist in the soil. It breaks down within a few days.

  • still_lynnski
    13 years ago

    My experience with vinca is slightly different. It fought for dominance with creeping charlie for a couple of years, and they traded the title of most stoleniferously invasive back and forth throughout the growing season for several years. I think the creeping charlie had a slight edge, but eventually, I moved in some ferns and the ferns took over both of them. So yes, it is invasive, but it can definitely be out-competed!

  • terrene
    13 years ago

    The previous owner loved Vinca, and it was all over the place in this yard. I've gotten rid of about 1/2 of it, but there is still a huge patch under the one remaining (huge) Norway maple, and they coexist pretty happily. It is fairly easy to control by regularly mowing the edges.

    Every garden bed I've created used to have Vinca in it. I have dug out tons of it and it's hard work. The easiest way to kill it off, is to mow it down real low and cover with double layers of cardboard and a little mulch. It will die off in a few months this time of year, maybe faster in hot dry weather. I did this in one bed and put some lasagne layers on top, and the soil in that bed is fabulous now.

    However if you want to plant quickly, and need to dig it out, I wouldn't mow it down. It will much easier to pull out if you keep the stalks in place and use them to pull out and shake off the roots.

  • laura128
    13 years ago

    M^3 -
    I live in Groton, MA and need lots of vinca for a big hill I have. I would be happy to come dig up as much as you are willing to part with.
    Please email me.
    Thanks
    Laura

  • mcube
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Laura,

    I dont think your profile is setup to receive emails. Could you use my profile and shoot me an email? I will respond to your email with my address.

    THanks
    m^3

  • prairiemoon2 z6b MA
    13 years ago

    still lynnski, that is very interesting. What type of fern did you use? Was it the Hay Fern?

    I do have one situation where I would consider using a chemical. I have a volunteer bittersweet coming up in the middle of an Itea. I didn't see it until it was 3/4 of the way up the side of the house. I cut it back to 4 inches off the ground in late fall, but I see it is sprouting worse than ever. I can't dig it out. I wonder if Roundup would work on it?

    I agree, it is easier to pull out vinca if you don't mow. Good to know cardboard and mulch work. I've tried that on lots of weeds and I have one that it still isn't working on but this year, I'm planning on putting thicker layers. [g]

  • still_lynnski
    13 years ago

    Hi prairiemooon2,

    I believe it was cinnamon fern. They took over a swath that's about 18x15, and it looks wonderful. You can still find a little vinca and charlie if you look closely under the huge fern fronds, and the ferns do look tired by the end of the summer b/c it's a little sunnier than they like. But the ferns are VERY tightly matted together, and for most of the season it looks like a refreshing jungle.

  • mmqchdygg
    13 years ago

    FWIW, Lilacs & Vinca can live happily together if you want a 'skirt' for your lilac patch.

  • gardenluvbug_inma
    13 years ago

    Thanks again MCube for the Vinca! Took nicely to the area already. My husband also enjoyed meeting you and 'talking shop' w/a fellow software engineer ;-)

    Janice aka gardenluvbug_inma

  • mcube
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Janice, Glad to hear that the vinca is doing good. I managed to give away the rest and plant other perennials in that bed. I had a nice time meeting your husband as well.