I am a victim of "vinca disappointment". You will recall several weeks ago I placed an online order for vinca vine (also known as "periwinkle"). The plan was, and is still, to plant it in the front yard around the new holly/pyracantha garden. I ordered several vines from one of the gardening papers we all receive in our mailboxes during the spring and summer months. When it arrived, I was not very encouraged when I saw the packages containing the roots.
There was very little of anything that looked "alive" in this package. Oh, there was a little green here and there, but the plants looked like they were in pretty bad shape.
The second package didn't look much better. Inside the packing envelope was my invoice and some sales brochures and so on. There was also a printed booklet which stated that the plants may not look healthy and alive due to handling and shipping, but not to worry. All one needed to do was plant them and indeed, with time, they would flourish. So, I took them at their word and planted the roots in fertile soil and watered them regularly. And what has happened?
This! This is what we have now, several weeks later. Yes, there is green in this pot. But I am not certain that it is vinca vine. It could very well be weeds. Now, ... are these vinca vines alive and will they eventually start growing. Maybe. Possibly. But from this stage, I will be in a nursing home before they fully take root and provide ground cover in the front yard around the holly/pyracantha garden.
Actually I tried two different styles of planting. Since I received my order in two separate bags, I separated the roots and planted them individually from the first bag (that's the picture above this one). The other bag of roots I just planted all together in the center of this pot. Neither style seemed to work better than the other. So, ... it looks like I will be going to the garden center and buying flats of healthy vinca vine which can then be planted in the yard. And these? We will see. I might continue this experiment for a little while longer and see what happens.
Of course, we will not be planting vinca vine this weekend or next week or any time in the foreseeable future. We are expecting temperatures to be around 107 today, that is with the humidity factored in. That is the continuing trend for as far out as the weather people can predict. So no yard work until this heat wave has passed. In these temperatures and with the humidity, you cannot drink enough water to keep yourself out of danger when working outside.
There was very little of anything that looked "alive" in this package. Oh, there was a little green here and there, but the plants looked like they were in pretty bad shape.
The second package didn't look much better. Inside the packing envelope was my invoice and some sales brochures and so on. There was also a printed booklet which stated that the plants may not look healthy and alive due to handling and shipping, but not to worry. All one needed to do was plant them and indeed, with time, they would flourish. So, I took them at their word and planted the roots in fertile soil and watered them regularly. And what has happened?
This! This is what we have now, several weeks later. Yes, there is green in this pot. But I am not certain that it is vinca vine. It could very well be weeds. Now, ... are these vinca vines alive and will they eventually start growing. Maybe. Possibly. But from this stage, I will be in a nursing home before they fully take root and provide ground cover in the front yard around the holly/pyracantha garden.
Actually I tried two different styles of planting. Since I received my order in two separate bags, I separated the roots and planted them individually from the first bag (that's the picture above this one). The other bag of roots I just planted all together in the center of this pot. Neither style seemed to work better than the other. So, ... it looks like I will be going to the garden center and buying flats of healthy vinca vine which can then be planted in the yard. And these? We will see. I might continue this experiment for a little while longer and see what happens.
Of course, we will not be planting vinca vine this weekend or next week or any time in the foreseeable future. We are expecting temperatures to be around 107 today, that is with the humidity factored in. That is the continuing trend for as far out as the weather people can predict. So no yard work until this heat wave has passed. In these temperatures and with the humidity, you cannot drink enough water to keep yourself out of danger when working outside.
