Summer's Answer
It’s June.
It’s Hot.
Degrees of 100+
Time to pull your Spring Annuals because they will fry.
Time to plant Vincas.
Vincas are like hippies, carefree, free-spirited, brightly colored, requiring little maintenance.
Vincas are our color savior here in the Valley of the Sun; with bright, happy summer colors available in white, pink, red and dark pink.
They turn into bushes, spread a couple of feet wide and get 18 inches tall and toward the end of the summer they will get long, leggy, spindly.
They can take FULL SUN with a daily watering. Recommended is a sprinkler system to spray at least 20 minutes twice daily or if watering by hand it will take about 4 gallons per four feet per day from June 1- October 31. They can survive on less if necessary but they will be lacking in color on both their petals and their leaves.
Vince’s don’t require fertile, but plant food for annuals never hurts. I make it a personal habit to add a little bone meal upon initial planting. They will easily last through October; after that, they look like runaway weeds. They will grow in pots or in the ground.
We grow ours as annuals. They can however, occasionally return from self-sown seed. Vinca Minor Or Vinca Major is perennial periwinkles and is groundcover, low to the ground and is just a little different. Check the labels.
Rainy season, such as our late summer monsoons, contributes to the spread of disease among vinca plants. This will arise when the flowers have been planted in soil that is not well-draining or when they are too tightly packed; as they like to feel a breeze through their legs. I do crop rotation, meaning I use my same flowerbed, swapping out different annuals with seasonal flowers. I believe that helps as I haven’t experienced any major issues with vincas in my 34 years of Phoenix gardening. I might add that I am gone a great deal of the time during our hottest months leaving my vincas to fend for themselves and they’ve done quite well.
Common Vinca Pests are the Phoenix standards: aphids, spider mites, and whiteflies. White flies tend to come before the rains, so heads up, as they tend to like the heat and humidity. Also if your plants become dehydrated they will attract white flies.
Generally, most of these pests can be controlled with beneficial insects that feed on them (check back as there is more on that later) or controlled with insecticidal soap. I make my own by mixing a bit of dish soap, water, baking soda and a dash of cayenne pepper. I have also mixed tap water with vinegar and a splash of dish soap. (there she goes again with her natural remedies) Lastly, there is always Neem oil.
So for color and simplicity, during our area’s hottest, worst gardening season..Vincas are your answer.
