Vinca (Periwinkle) are great plants to use all over the garden whether its full shade, woodland, front of border or an exposed bank they will put on a great show of flowers from November right through until April. They are mostly evergreen and have a creeping habit, they are great for ground cover. Some varieties can be a little invasive like Vinca major, others are less so. Vinca minor has much smaller leaves and can be cut back from areas that you want to keep free. Vinca difformis is somewhere in between V.major and V. minor.

Here we highlight Vinca difformis and its varieties, V.difformis has a larger leaf much like V.major and can be quite invasive but it does get knocked back by frost more so than the other species and this can tame it somewhat. In very cold conditions V.difformis behaves more like an herbaceous perennial dying back to the root and shooting up in the Spring. The flowers are very pretty and have a slightly different shape to the normal Vinca’s:

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Vinca difformis

Vinca difformis

A fantastic ground cover plant that grows well in shade as well as into full sun, this variety has large, light green leaves and stunning delicate pale blue flowers from March through to September.

Vinca difformis ‘Jenny Pym’

Vinca difformis Jenny Pym

Vinca difformis Jenny Pym has the prettiest flowers of the difformis types with a white center to the flower and pink outer petals. The buds are pale pink too before opening, the foliage is paler and slightly more rounded than that of Vinca difformis.

Vinca difformis ‘Snowmound’

Vinca difformis Snowmound

Vinca difformis Snowmound is pure white, often Vinca difformis is referred to as white but it does have a definite pale blue tinge to the petal. Snowmound has more rounded flowers, almost cupped and pure white flowers with pure white buds. The foliage is rounded like V. Jenny Pym and a dark green.

Vinca difformis Sardoa

Vinca difformis Sardoa

Vinca difformis Sardoa is a truly stunning introduction, it is far larger in leaf and flower than all the other varieties of Vinca difformis and is much more vigorous. The flowers are outstanding, they have a wonderful, flattened star shape and a strong shade of dark blue being consistent through the petals. the leaves are broader but pointed like V. difformis and the internodes of the stems are spread out more so than the other varieties.