White Periwinkle Plants

Vinca minor 'Alba', White Periwinkle Plants

Vinca 'Alba' is similar in bloom to the other lovely white periwinkle Vinca 'Gertrude Jekyll'. However, it flowers a little earlier, in early as opposed to mid-spring, and continues blooming until early summer. It is a minor miracle in that it is great for shady areas. It creates long shoots which produce small ovate, evergreen leaves.

Browse our other ground cover plants, or all of our shrubs.

Features:

• White flowers
• Evergreen leaves.
• Flowering: March-Apr/May
• Height x Spread: 15 x 50cm
• Tough, trample resistant ground cover & informal edging.
• Thrives in the shade
• Unpalatable to rabbits & deer

Growing Vinca minor Alba

Suitable for any well-drained soil, it prefers an element of shade to full sun, and will flourish less quickly in full shade which is ideal if you don't want it to spread too far. Mature plants in the shade are moderately drought tolerant, but they are shallow rooted and sensitive to drying out when young 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. It grows up to about 30cm high so only place in areas where there are taller plants than that.

In Your Garden Design

Vinca 'Alba' is less prone to spreading than some of its cousins, but it is still an excellent choice for groundcover in that difficult shady spot and looks lovely with its attractive white flowers. Grow alongside hedges and trees and with hardy ferns such as dryopteris. They also pair well with hellebores and hostas, and are excellent at covering up dead foliage. The colour always adds an illusion of light to shady areas so pair with other white flowering plants.

Did You Know?

When the French Revolution was raging in Europe, the great English poet William Wordsworth penned his poem "Lines Written in Early Spring" which he published in Lyrical Ballads, a volume of poetry which he put together with his friend Samuel Taylor Coleridge. The poem ponders the beauty of nature and misery of mankind, and how we wreak havoc on each other. In it, the periwinkle shines as a natural glory:

"I heard a thousand blended notes,
While in a grove I sate reclined,
In that sweet mood when pleasant thoughts
Bring sad thoughts to the mind.

To her fair works did Nature link
The human soul that through me ran;
And much it grieved my heart to think
What man has made of man.

Through primrose tufts, in that green bower,
The periwinkle trailed its wreaths;
And ’tis my faith that every flower
Enjoys the air it breathes..."