topic Re: Went with Vinca instead of Impatiens..... in Garden

Went with Vinca instead of Impatiens.....

Nataliesgramma — Mon, 15 May 2017 09:56:14 GMT

I usually plant some impatiens in pots around the patio, but I decided to give Vinca another try this year. It never seems to take off as well as impatiens.

Any hints out there? The area gets mostly afternoon sun.

Re: Went with Vinca instead of Impatiens.....

nyc1 — Mon, 15 May 2017 10:34:36 GMT

I'd love to hear the replies. I did that one year, many years ago, and they were a dud for me. Had more success with them in pots. Good luck with your plantings....

Re: Went with Vinca instead of Impatiens.....

gardenman — Mon, 15 May 2017 10:51:39 GMT

I've had good luck with Vinca Mediterranean. It's a spreading/trailing vinca. I just treated it like every other plant and it did fine.

Re: Went with Vinca instead of Impatiens.....

LonestarBabs — Mon, 15 May 2017 11:55:31 GMT

Vinca needs to be watered almost daily if in pots in a sunny location. Here in TX it just burns up due to heat and strong sun. I've always had good luck with impatiens in shady/morning sun areas. Vinca is pretty, and if you live up north you'll have a better chance with it.

Re: Went with Vinca instead of Impatiens.....

Sweetbay magnolia — Mon, 15 May 2017 12:02:39 GMT

Annual vinca does well with lots of sun.

Impatiens (which have been struggling to come back from a downy mildew epidemic) are best in shade/part shade.

Any annual in a pot needs frequent watering, though. I like to fertilize alternately with fish emulsion and something "blue" - Peter's, Jack's Classic, Miracle Gro, etc.

Re: Went with Vinca instead of Impatiens.....

Nataliesgramma — Mon, 15 May 2017 12:36:11 GMT

@LonestarBabs wrote:
Vinca needs to be watered almost daily if in pots in a sunny location. Here in TX it just burns up due to heat and strong sun. I've always had good luck with impatiens in shady/morning sun areas. Vinca is pretty, and if you live up north you'll have a better chance with it.

I live in Ohio....so maybe this year it will do better for me

Re: Went with Vinca instead of Impatiens.....

Carmie — Mon, 15 May 2017 14:16:52 GMT

I plant vinca in planters on my deck. They do well for me if I can keep the squirrels from digging. I like them because they seem to always be blooming. I love potted flowers on the deck.

Last year I saw a new ( for me) plant that caught my eye so much I splurged and bought it. It did extremely well and was in bloom all summer long. It became my favorite flowering plant ever. Everyone stopped to admire it and asked what it was.

Unfortunally, I had no idea. I threw away the tag with the information. This year, I found them again and purchased three of them.

They are called Dipladenia and require full sun. I got mine at the Home Depot. Last year they only had pink. This year they have pink, fuschia and white. If you need

an annual for a sunny location, you will not be disappointed with this plant. I am potting them up today. They do well planted in the garden too.

PS. I posted a stock pic of the flowers, it's not of my home.

Re: Went with Vinca instead of Impatiens.....

stevieb — Mon, 15 May 2017 14:24:09 GMT

Vinca is pretty, has prettier foliage, but smaller flowers. There is also a Vinca that is more of a ground cover, but is a different plant. I'd might have opted for impatiens, only because they're more 'showy' and if they thrive they grow quickly, also keeping in mind that while there is a 'sunny impatien' variety, the traditional plant prefers partial shade. Both are subject to some form of 'blight'.

Re: Went with Vinca instead of Impatiens.....

lulu2 — Mon, 15 May 2017 22:14:23 GMT

Every year I've been using Vinca more and more. This year no Impatiens, rather only Vinca. It takes the sun well and doesn't need to be watered as often. With Impatiens I'm watering twice a day. Also Vinca hanging baskets do well and are relatively inexpensive.

There are so many colorful varieties. Flats were cheap at both Walmart and another grocery store.

Re: Went with Vinca instead of Impatiens.....

DiAnne — Tue, 16 May 2017 00:29:52 GMT

@Carmie wrote:
I plant vinca in planters on my deck. They do well for me if I can keep the squirrels from digging. I like them because they seem to always be blooming. I love potted flowers on the deck.

Last year I saw a new ( for me) plant that caught my eye so much I splurged and bought it. It did extremely well and was in bloom all summer long. It became my favorite flowering plant ever. Everyone stopped to admire it and asked what it was.

Unfortunally, I had no idea. I threw away the tag with the information. This year, I found them again and purchased three of them.

They are called Dipladenia and require full sun. I got mine at the Home Depot. Last year they only had pink. This year they have pink, fuschia and white. If you need
an annual for a sunny location, you will not be disappointed with this plant. I am potting them up today. They do well planted in the garden too.

PS. I posted a stock pic of the flowers, it's not of my home.

Those are beautiful. I will have to look for them.

Re: Went with Vinca instead of Impatiens.....

Kachina624 — Thu, 18 May 2017 00:51:32 GMT

I could be dreaming since I haven't planted it for years, but seems that I was told Vinca should not be planted in the same spot consecutive years. @JustJazzmom ?

Re: Went with Vinca instead of Impatiens.....

JustJazzmom — Thu, 18 May 2017 05:28:52 GMT

@Kachina624 wrote:
@I could be dreaming since I haven't planted it for years, but seems that I was told Vinca should not be planted in the same spot consecutive years. @JustJazzmom ?

Sorry, just seeing this now. Never heard that. The only thing I can think of is maybe people thought certain nutrients might be depleted planting the same plant in same spot year after year?

Vinca is being chosen because of the impatiens fungal problem which from what I hear is over in our area (LI) but stores are still not selling regular impatiens but New Guinea ones.

Re: Went with Vinca instead of Impatiens.....

gardenman — Thu, 18 May 2017 10:34:31 GMT

There are fungal diseases that attack annual vinca. Stem blight, root rot are the common names, but the scientific name is phytophthora parasitica. If you have a fungal issue with vinca in a spot one year, you'd be wise to either skip vinca the next year or two, or plant it in a different location. If you had no health issues you can replant it in the same spot.

Re: Went with Vinca instead of Impatiens.....

blueskies — Sat, 20 May 2017 10:10:20 GMT

We grew Vinca vine in our window boxes a few years ago, along with Geraniums & Alyssum too. The Vinca vine trailed several feet to the ground over that Summer . They survived over the Winter & started growing again the next Spring ! They grew all over the ground below the windowboxes, along the foundation that year. We left them as a ground cover, because they crowded out any weeds. Also, it's a pretty variegated vine in the landscape imho. It's been several years now , and they're growing again this Spring . We live in New England and get snow every Winter , so the Vinca are surviving freezing temps like a perennial. Also, the side of the house where they're growing , receives morning sun and afternoon shade . Hope any of this information helps you. Good luck .

Re: Went with Vinca instead of Impatiens.....

JustJazzmom — Sat, 20 May 2017 15:22:10 GMT

@blueskies Your trailing vinca is not the same vinca as the annual.

Both have periwinkle shaped flowers but the trailing one is either Vinca major (larger leaves) or Vinca minor (smaller leaves) with bluish purple flowers.

The annual vinca is called Catharanthus rosea or Madagascar periwinkle.

Re: Went with Vinca instead of Impatiens.....

pennstatediva — Fri, 26 May 2017 18:45:02 GMT

Is it safe to plant impatiens yet? They had that disease a couple of years ago. Supposedly, if they are planted with that disease, the ground is tainted with the disease forever.

Re: Went with Vinca instead of Impatiens.....

gardenman — Sat, 27 May 2017 00:38:10 GMT

@pennstatediva wrote:
Is it safe to plant impatiens yet? They had that disease a couple of years ago. Supposedly, if they are planted with that disease, the ground is tainted with the disease forever.

I've planted them forever with no trouble, but I typically grow my own, so there's no greenhouse diseases passed down. I believe the issue has been wiped out in the big growing houses so things should be pretty safe these days.

The big commercial growers use automated equipment almost every step of the way and grow the plants in very close proximity, so it's easy for problems to spread from plant to plant. There are commercial plug trays that hold 512 seedlings per tray, so plants get started in a very cramped space then transplanted by robots and if the first plant the robot touches has an issue, it spreads it to every other one it touches.

Re: Went with Vinca instead of Impatiens.....

151949 — Mon, 29 May 2017 04:01:16 GMT

We planted vincas in a pot in front of our house in the shade a few years ago. When we left for the summer we left them in the care of our neighbor because they were too pretty to pull out , and she said leave them.When we came home in the fall they were everywhere. Our front yard - hers and even across the street. Apparently the heavy summer rains had spread the seeds from ours all around the area. Add the florida sun & rain and - viola - jungle.

Re: Went with Vinca instead of Impatiens.....

DiAnne — Mon, 29 May 2017 18:30:36 GMT

@Carmie

Based on your picture I bought some red and white vinca to put in a pot on my patio to see how they do in our rainy weather and short growing season in the PNW.

Re: Went with Vinca instead of Impatiens.....

muttmom — Mon, 29 May 2017 21:28:53 GMT

@DiAnne wrote:
@Carmie

Based on your picture I bought some red and white vinca to put in a pot on my patio to see how they do in our rainy weather and short growing season in the PNW.

The picture Carmie posted is not vinca.

Vinca grows well in pots but it likes sun.