Vinca Annual Flowers Add Color to Sun Gardens

 Vincas are annual flowers that bloom profusely throughout the summer months and throughout the warm fall season. Dying off only after a frost.

This summer I planted 12 bi-color red and white and 4 solid red vincas in my ajuga garden and have enjoyed the added colorful blooms that attract butterflies to my yard.  

The Vincas were planted in well-drained soil that was amended with organic compost. The growing instructions said to plant in full sun, but seeing I don’t have a full day of sun in my yard due to living in the woods. I did plant the flowers where they would get 5 hours of sun daily. I suspect that they will not bloom as much or not fill in due to the lack of sun.

Here are some photos of my Vinca flowers that were planted in my Ajuga garden

Plant Care

Apply a layer of mulch around the plants to aid in retaining moisture.

Keep the soil evenly moist until the plant matures.

Fertilize with a liquid feed, every other week to encourage new growth and continuous blooms.

When fully grown your plant will be a foot tall with a similar spread.

No need to deadhead as this flower is self-cleaning.

Okay to grow in containers or in the ground. Vincas are beautiful border plants especially along a sidewalk or around a tree.

Vinca is an annual for USDA growing zones 2-8, and a perennial for zone 9-11.

* Deer and Groundhogs do not eat this flower.

ACE Hardware Sells High Quality Plants

 Today my husband and I shopped at ACE Hardware and discovered that not only do they sell paint and tools they also sell high-quality vegetables, herbs, flowers, and shrubs.  The garden area is off to the side, you have to go inside Ace and then outside into their greenhouse. Once inside the greenhouse, you will view high-quality plants. Unlike other garden centers, the plants at Ace are well cared for by a plant expert.

If you have a question they will give you the right answer, inform you of proper growing tips and even tell you about proper container size, and how deep you need to plant in the soil. The garden expert is very nice and helpful.

On the day that we visited ACE, the vegetables were on sale buy one get one free. We got lucky and bought 5 tomato plants that were 19 to 24 inches tall. We also bought an eggplant,  4 peppers, and an assortment of herbs.

Here is a photo of my plants in pots filled with organic soil and added cedar mulch to keep the insects away.

Tomatoes peppers and herbs

Culinary herbs that I bought at ACE

Remove Leaves from Gardens in Early Spring

 

The fall season leaves are a natural mulch in the flower garden and a good way to enrich the lawn. However, the leaves must be raked in the early spring to remove the excess leaf matter from your gardens and lawn in the early spring. Or as soon as your days warm to an average of 40 degrees.

Last fall I left the leaves on my gardens and in late winter I removed a patch of the leaves I found that the leaves were beneficial to the earthworms and the soil was richer due to nutrients found in the leaves. The leaf matter also made my heavy soil lighter and the sandy soil retained moisture.

Know that it takes an average of six to twelve months for leaves to decompose. I was not waiting the full six months because I saw new growth under the leaves and did not want to block the daffodils that were coming up.

I am glad that I winterized my lawn and garden with a light layer of leaves as it was beneficial but you would not want to leave a thick pile of leaves on your garden or on your lawn.

Excess leaf matter will inhibit plant growth and it will attract mice snakes and other undesirable garden pests including borers that will eat your Irises. So it's best to remove any excess leaves from your gardens in the fall and only use a light layer of leaf mulch on your gardens.