The various varieties of evergreen Vinca major and Vinca minor generally do not require cutting, as these plants form a pretty green carpet in nature even without any special care. When specifically growing in your own garden, pruning can definitely make sense for various reasons.
When and how should you cut the periwinkle?
Pruning the periwinkle is not absolutely necessary, but it can be useful to contain sprawling populations or to improve the population density. The cut should be done in March and can be done by hand, lawn shears or carefully with a lawnmower.
How to properly contain sprawling populations
In a suitable location with enough nutrients and moisture, the periwinkle can show impressive growth. Therefore, think carefully about where in the garden you want to plant the evergreen. In any case, adhere to the planting distance recommended for the respective subspecies when planting. It can become problematic in the following places in the garden:
- on lawn edges
- next to the patio paving
- for overgrown garden paths made of stepping stones
- on natural stone walls and stone stairs
If evergreen populations are in acute overgrowth, it is no problem to cut back at any time using lawn shears (€14.00 on Amazon) or the garden trimmer.
Sometimes brute force methods can also be used
The comprehensive pruning of evergreens should - if possible - take place in March so that the plants can then sprout quickly and recover. Such pruning can sometimes be useful in order to achieve improved stand density with more densely branched individual plants. To ensure that this work doesn't get out of hand, it is even possible to cut back with a lawnmower on very flat surfaces with relatively dense soil. However, you should adjust the cutting height so that the sleeping buds and the branches of the evergreen near the ground are not injured.
When pruning, think about propagation
If the evergreen is not cut back with a lawn mower but by hand, you can also use the removed plant parts for propagation from cuttings. Cuttings with at least one or two pairs of leaves usually root very quickly and can be used to close gaps in the green carpet.
Tip
It should not be overlooked that the small periwinkle is not entirely non-poisonous. Therefore, if possible, do not let pets and small children unattended near this ground cover.
