On a Grey March Morning, Vinca Flowers Spark like Scattered Stars, Bringing Colour to Corners That Usually Go Unnoticed.

A Faithful Evergreen Carpet

Once periwinkle has settled, it’s astonishingly reliable. Through winter frosts, spring downpours and summer heat, that low mat of glossy, neat leaves just keeps on going, covering bare soil and weaving between stones and roots. For gardeners in Cambridgeshire and across East Anglia with awkward dry shade, it can be a real ally – a plant you can trust to plug gaps where others fade away, without demanding daily attention.

  • A Faithful Evergreen Carpet
  • Colour Where You Don’t Expect It
  • Tough, Tolerant And Easy To Keep In Hand

Vinca at a Glance:

Common name: Periwinkle

Latin name: Vinca

Size in UK gardens: Usually 10–20cm high for V. minor and up to 25–40cm for V. major, but the stems can spread well over a metre or more to form a dense mat.

Best position: Happy in full sun to partial shade; very useful under shrubs and light tree canopies where lawn struggles. Best flowering in good light, but still flowers in shade.

Soil: Moderately fertile, moist but well‑drained soil; tolerant of clay, loam, chalk and sand once established, as long as it’s not bone‑dry or permanently waterlogged.

Main interest: Violet‑blue, purple, white or pink flowers in spring with some repeat through summer, on a neat evergreen carpet of glossy foliage.

Fragrance: Flowers are usually only lightly scented to our noses; periwinkle is grown more for colour and cover than for strong perfume.

Hardiness: Fully hardy through UK winters; Vinca minor is especially tough, with V. major slightly less hardy but still fine in most gardens.

Care level: Easy – once established it more or less looks after itself, but does need firm, occasional trimming to stop it wandering where it’s not wanted.
Some of our team!

Home-grown, backed by local specialists.

The Simpson’s team raises the majority of our trees here at the nursery. For varieties outside our own production, we work with independent local growers we trust - all chosen for UK climate suitability.

Vinca Care at a Glance:

Planting time: As container‑grown plants, periwinkles can be planted in most months when the ground isn’t frozen or waterlogged, with spring and early autumn particularly kind to new roots.

Watering: Water regularly for the first season or two so the rootball and surrounding soil don’t dry out completely, especially on light, sandy ground. Once established, Vinca usually copes well with normal summer dry spells, needing extra water only in prolonged drought.

Feeding: In ordinary garden soil, a simple mulch of compost or well‑rotted manure in spring is usually enough. Pots or very poor soils benefit from a small dose of balanced slow‑release fertiliser in spring.

Pruning: Trim back trailing stems once or twice a year to keep them within bounds, and thin or lift sections if the mat becomes too thick. Vinca responds well to a fairly hard cut in spring if it’s over‑enthusiastic.

Winter: Fully hardy in the ground; foliage stays green and simply lies low through winter. Container plants appreciate a sheltered corner in very cold, windy weather.

Varieties We Usually Stock

Availability is always changing, so please check with us if you have a particular variety in mind.

Vinca major ‘Variegata’

Vinca minor ‘Aurea Variegata’

Vinca minor ‘Alba’

Vinca minor ‘Argenteovariegata’

A bright, vigorous groundcover with glossy leaves edged in cream, quickly lighting up shady corners and awkward banks. The larger periwinkle flowers add a lovely blue flourish in season, but the real value is that evergreen carpet that makes borders look finished and keeps weeds at bay.

A smaller, neater periwinkle with golden-variegated foliage that brings warmth and brightness under shrubs and along shady edges. It forms an evergreen mat that looks smart year-round, with blue flowers adding a gentle spring lift. Particularly good where you want groundcover that doesn’t feel heavy.

A calm, clean-looking periwinkle with pure white flowers that brighten shade beautifully. It makes a neat evergreen carpet under shrubs, along woodland paths, and on banks, giving that “green continuity” through the year. A lovely choice when you want a softer, lighter feel than the usual blue forms.

A crisp variegated form with silvery-edged leaves that brighten darker planting and bring contrast all year. It’s excellent as groundcover in shade, under shrubs, and along borders where you want a tidy evergreen mat. Blue flowers provide a seasonal bonus, but the foliage does most of the work.

Vinca minor ‘Atropurpurea’

Vinca minor ‘Bowles’ Variety’

Vinca minor ‘Gertrude Jekyll’

Vinca minor ‘Illumination’

A characterful periwinkle with deeper, purple-toned flowers that add a richer note than the classic blue. It forms a neat evergreen carpet, perfect for underplanting shrubs, covering banks, and stitching borders together in shade. A great choice when you want groundcover with a slightly moodier, more dramatic flower colour.

A much-loved classic, valued for its free-flowering nature and tidy evergreen groundcover. It spreads to make a dense mat that’s excellent under shrubs and along shady edges, and the blue flowers come generously in spring. One of the best for reliable coverage and a long, cheerful flowering season.

A smaller-leaved, refined periwinkle that forms a neat, dense carpet—perfect when you want groundcover that looks tidy rather than rampant. It’s excellent for edging woodland borders, underplanting shrubs, and covering awkward patches in shade, with blue flowers adding a gentle seasonal lift.

A bright, modern-looking periwinkle with vivid golden foliage that really lifts shade, making it superb for containers, underplanting and tricky corners. It forms an evergreen carpet and looks particularly striking beside darker greens. Flowers are a bonus, but the foliage brings the main “light-up” effect.

Vinca minor ‘Ralph Shugert’

A handsome variegated periwinkle with green leaves edged in cream, giving a clean, bright look through every season. It forms a neat evergreen mat under shrubs and along shaded borders, and the blue flowers add an extra splash in spring. A very useful choice for lifting darker corners without fuss.

Frequently Asked Questions

Periwinkle is certainly vigorous, and both Vinca minor and V. major will spread steadily by trailing stems that root as they go. In the UK, V. minor is often recommended over V. major because the larger species can be particularly rampant and is classed as invasive in some other countries. The RHS lists Vinca minor as a “potentially troublesome” plant if not managed. In an ordinary garden, sensible siting and a yearly trim around the edges are usually enough to keep it in bounds, but avoid planting it where it can spread into wild areas, or weave through delicate perennials you don’t want swamped.

Yes – that’s one of its great strengths. Periwinkle is very happy in light or partial shade and will usually cope under deciduous trees and open shrubs, provided there is some moisture in the soil. It tends to flower most freely where it gets at least dappled sun for part of the day; in deep, dry shade you may get more foliage than bloom, but it still earns its keep as a tidy, weed‑suppressing carpet. Where possible, aim for morning or late‑afternoon sun and avoid the absolute driest rooty spots right against trunks.

Think of Vinca as you would a creeping lawn – it needs an occasional “mow” round the edges. The simplest method is to shear or strim it back once or twice a year, then lift and remove any rooted stems that have crept into beds, paths or lawns where you don’t want them. For serious overgrowth, slice off unwanted sections with a spade and fork out the rooted mat, then replant with something else or lay a thick mulch to smother any fragments. Avoid putting chunky bits of Vinca in home compost heaps or dumping them in the wild, as they can re‑root and spread.

Like many members of the Apocynaceae family, Vinca contains alkaloids that can be toxic if eaten in quantity. Various sources note that periwinkle (including V. minor and V. major) is mildly poisonous and potentially harmful to dogs, cats and humans if ingested, with symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhoea and, in severe cases, more serious effects. The risk from casual garden contact is low – brushing past or light handling is not a problem – but it’s wise not to plant it where pets habitually graze, or where very young children are likely to chew leaves or stems. If you suspect a pet or child has eaten a significant amount, contact a vet or doctor/Poison Information immediately for advice.