Vinca major, Greater Periwinkle

Common Name: Greater Periwinkle

Vinca major, more commonly known as the Greater Periwinkle, is a slender-stemmed creeping evergreen plant from the family Apocynaceae that is a ground cover plant and will tolerate anything from full sun to dense shade under large trees and is to be found natively in southern Europe.

The genus name Vinca is derived from the Latin vincire meaning bind, as the long stems were used in the making of garlands, Vinca major referring to the size of the plant, with leaves growing to 3cm in length and Vinca minor varieties having smaller foliage. The leaves of are light green when first emerging, deepening to a glossy dark green with age providing very attractive winter foliage. The flowers which appear from spring through to early summer are an extremely pretty, purple-blue colour adorning the weed suppressing carpet of growth to amazing effect especially with the arching branches of new growth.

It is an invasive plant, as the creeping nature means it will self-root where the shoots land. The early spring flowers which will attract insects and bees, will take the plant normally to a height of about 45cm.

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