Does Vinca kill other plants?

Vinca minor, also known as just vinca or periwinkle, is a fast growing, easy groundcover. It’s appealing to gardeners and homeowners needing to cover areas of the yard as an alternative to grass. This creeping plant can be invasive though, choking out native plants.

• Hellebore. The early flowers of Hellebore contrast nicely with the evergreen foliage and spring bloom of Perennial Vinca.
• Hosta. Plant Perennial Vinca in your shade garden and let it ramble around taller perennials like Hosta.
• Astilbe.

Vinca major, commonly known as bigleaf periwinkle, may have lovely purplish-blue flowers, but the invasive vine can quickly take over habitat of native plant communities. This hardy plant needs little water or sun and forms dense mats of vegetation, smothering the diversity of plants in its path.

Cut periwinkle plants with pruning shears in late spring or early fall when temperatures are between 70 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Use a weed whip for large patches. Spray the cut stems with a ready-to-use, 5-percent glyphosate weedkiller.

Vinca is grown as an annual. It will often return in following summers from self-sown seed. Annual vinca is not the same as the perennial periwinkles (Vinca minor or V. major) that are grown as groundcovers.

Periwinkle, an evergreen trailing groundcover, is a common invader throughout most of the United States. It is native to Europe, where it was commonly known in folklore as the “flower of death” because its vines were woven into headbands worn by dead children or criminals on their way to execution.

Since annual vincas are native to Madagascar, they need the summer heat to thrive. Full sun is best, but they can take part shade if there’s good air circulation. If an area is too stuffy, the plant can develop fungal problems. Vinca can also stand up to drought.

Impatiens flowers are truly flat, whereas vinca flowers have a deep and almost bell-shaped structure. … Vinca leaves have a dark, glossy color and a pointed tip, whereas the leaves of an impatiens plant are bright green and have scalloped edges.

The vinca alkaloids known as vinblastine and vincristine are widely used in chemotherapy to treat a variety of cancers in humans and animals. Since this periwinkle contains these alkaloids, if ingested by dogs, they can be poisonous and cause a variety of side effects.

Don’t leave any of it lying around because these plants root readily from cuttings. … Pour into a garden sprayer and apply generously to the cut Vinca plants. The vinegar may not kill the weeds, but it will weaken them. Don’t expose desirable plants to the solution, which kills indiscriminately.

Vinca minor has slick, dark-green leaves and blue blossoms; Vinca major has soft green leaves and yellowish-white flowers. Both are used as vining ground covers and work well in containers, window boxes and hanging baskets. All Vinca flowers are single, and most varieties have overlapping petals.

Vinca minor vines are considered somewhat invasive plants, so, if this is a concern for you, make it a point each year to keep their runners in check. But remember, the flip side of the coin for so-called “invasive plants” is that they are vigorous growers, meaning that they tend to be successful at filling in an area.

You can also cut back vinca with a lawn mower set to cut at 4 inches high, but the vines have a tendency to wrap around the blades, meaning you have to stop, shut the mower down and clean the blades frequently. Vincas cause mild stomach upset when eaten.

Avoid pruning vinca minor during May and June while it’s in bloom to keep from losing the colorful blossoms before they die a natural death. Perform a hard prune every two to three years to control growth, rejuvenate vinca minor and encourage its best performance.

Unfortunately, hand pulling or hoeing out is the safest way to get rid of weeds. Particularly, when trying to get them out of established ground covers. Alternatively, you could try brushing the leaves with weed killer. If you spray, you may get some on the vinca.