Periwinkles
These heat-tolerant flowering plants can add a nice pop of color in the summer.
There’s good news for gardeners who love periwinkles — newer varieties make gardening with these beautiful annuals easier than ever.
Periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus) is a warm-season annual that grows from 7 to 24 inches high and wide. It may have a carpet-like or an upright growth habit. The leaves are glossy green and the pinwheel-like flowers form a colorful mound in white, pinks, reds or bi-colors.
Traditionally, periwinkles in Florida have suffered from several disease problems. But periwinkles in the Cora™ and Nirvana™ series offer increased disease resistance over the older varieties. If given proper care, they’ll flower throughout the summer with beautiful blooms in apricot, burgundy, pink, lavender, violet or white.
Plant your periwinkles where they’ll receive full sun, either in the ground or in a container. Once established, water these Florida-Friendly plants only as needed. Periwinkles like to be kept on the dry side and the roots will rot if irrigated too frequently. Although officially considered perennials, periwinkles are treated as annuals in Florida, as they rarely thrive beyond one summer, due to frost or fungal disease.
A Note on Names: Periwinkles (Catharanthus roseus) were once also commonly called vincas, but Vinca spp. is a separate genus. Two species, Vinca minor and V. major are considered to be invasion risks by the Florida Assessment of Non-native Plants in Florida’s Natural Areas, and are not recommended. Periwinkles are often called Madagascar periwinkles to differentiate the two plants.