The name "green carpet" is usually used in specialist shops as a variety name for the small periwinkle (Vinca minor). In fact, this term is intended to indicate the possible use as a low ground cover and to help distinguish it from the higher-growing large periwinkle (Vinca major).

The ground cover Vinca Minor forms a beautiful green carpet

Choose the site and prepare properly

Although the periwinkle can be planted as a green carpet in a garden, the plant is not always a substitute for lawns. While it's tempting that periwinkle as a groundcover requires little or no pruning, it doesn't really do well in very sunny locations. Small periwinkles, on the other hand, usually do very well in garden corners under tall trees or with only a few hours of sunshine per day. The soil should store moisture well enough so that the periwinkle does not die immediately in dry periods. Before planting Vinca minor, you should dig up very heavy and compacted soil and enrich it with compost. This also ensures sufficient fertilization in the first year.

Obtain the right number of young plants

It can be a challenge to grow the number of seedlings needed for a green carpet of periwinkle
calculate. For example, the following factors come into play:

  • location
  • Soil quality and soil structure (slope or level)
  • Size/number of shoots of the young plants
  • the exact variety

Basically, you assume a plant distance of 25 cm between the plants and quantities of 5 to 12 plants per m2. Propagation from seeds is relatively complicated and is rarely practiced.

Properly caring for an evergreen carpet of lesser periwinkle

After a new planting of Vinca minor, it should be watered more frequently so that the plants can grow well. Since the periwinkle later protects the soil from drying out as a closed green carpet, it needs very little watering and other care under normal weather conditions. If you want to cut the small periwinkle, be careful not to cut too deep. Always leave enough branches near the ground and use the cuttings obtained during cutting for vegetative propagation.

tips

Particularly attractive effects arise during the flowering period in spring if you mix Vinca minor varieties with differently colored and shaped flowers over a larger area in the garden. However, you then have to pay close attention to the care instructions for the individual varieties: After all, some cultivated varieties are significantly less hardy than the wild form of Vinca minor.

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Herbs