Purple Periwinkle Plants

Vinca minor Atropurpurea, Purple Periwinkle Plants

Purple Vinca minor is low growing ground cover that suppresses weeds beautifully. It is popular with parents of small children and urban planners because it can take a fair amount of trampling without complaint, and for bonus points deer and rabbits don't like it. It has evergreen leaves, purplish stems and rich purple flowers in star formation from April to September.
Browse our other ground cover plants, or all of our shrubs.

Features:

• Rich purple flowers
• Evergreen leaves. Ruddy purple stems.
• Flowering: Apr-Sept
• Height x Spread: 20 x 50cm
• Tough, trample resistant ground cover & informal edging.
• Thrives in the shade
• RHS Award of Garden Merit

Growing Vinca minor Atropurpurea

Suitable for any well drained soil, these tough cookies prefer a bit of shade to full sun, and will plod along in full shade. Mature plants in the shade are moderately drought tolerant, but we stress that they are shallow rooted and young plants are sensitive to drying out for their first couple of years, until they get big enough to shade the soil well by themselves, so water them diligently during that time. Mature ones in full sun will need some watering during dry summer spells.

Their roots are not aggressive enough to be considered really invasive, but left unchecked, the stems tend to grow through and slowly smother small plants up to about 30cm high. Anything taller than that should be fine.

In Your Garden Design

A tough little plant ideal for use as a ground cover but watch out as it has a tendency to run all over the place. Being a short vine that roots easily where it touches the soil, it can be used to spill over the edges of pots (where it can be contained) and walls where it has a natural finite end. It will work with most plants tall enough not to be smothered by it, such as hostas and hellebores. These are particularly useful under trees or shrubs and also work in rockeries.

Did You Know?

Etymologically, Periwinkle is associated with the Latin word pervinca, derived from the verb pervincire, meaning to bind or entwine, which describes the growth habit of this vine, and the shells of the little marine snails of the same name.