Bigleaf periwinkle (vinca)

Vinca major flowers and leaves — flowers and leaves

Max Licher

Common Name(s)

Bigleaf periwinkle

Large periwinkle

Greater periwinkle

Blue periwinkle

Scientific Name

Vinca major

Family

Dogbane (Apocynaceae)

Reasons for concern

Bigleaf periwinkle forms a dense cover that can spread quickly, which smothers native species. It tolerates heat, but takes up shaded areas. When in riparian and canyon bottom environments, its large spread alters natural hydrology, geologic processes, and native plant structure. Because of how quickly it spreads, weeding by hand is very difficult and labor intensive. It is also slightly poisonous, but particularly harmful to dogs.

Botanical description

Leaves

Oval shaped, veined, 3 inches long, 1-2 inches wide, opposite on the stem and dark green in color.

Stem(s)

Release milky latex when disturbed, generally low to the ground with flowering stems

Flowers

5 blue/violet colored diamond shaped petals fused at the base, grow from an upright stem. Flowers in the spring

Roots

Roots at the nodes and can extend up to 3 feet

Native to

Southern Europe

Where it grows

Bigleaf periwinkle is found in shaded areas with moist soil. It is commonly used as ornamental groundcover and can be found in residential and commercial areas, but it spreads to natural riverbeds and canyon environments

Lifecycle

Perennial

Reproduction

Vegetative spread and propagation from solons

Weedy Characteristics

Quickly forms dense mats that outcompete existing plants and prevent native seeds from sprouting. New plants can easily grow from dislodged stems, nodes, and stolons.

Look-alike Plants

Violet Wild Petunia (Ruellia nudiflora) can be distinguished by their darker purple trumpet shaped flowers compared to the lighter, flatter bigleaf periwinkle flowers. Violet Wild Petunias flower from April to September, especially after the monsoon. The plant overall is taller with longer, woodier stems unlike the bigleaf periwinkle’s vine like stems. It doesn't spread as widely horizontally. The leaves are generally bigger and have small hairs on the edges.

Control Strategies

Because of how quickly it grows, it is best to avoid planting bigleaf periwinkle. Manual removal is labor intensive, but when done make sure to pull out the entirety of the plant and remove from the ground so the stoles don’t re-root. This can be done by hand or with a rake. Manual removal requires multiple treatments for larger areas. 3% glyphosate is most effective when applied after cutting down the plants with a weed wacker, with best results in early spring. Oxyfluorfen based herbicides are also effective.

Gallery

References