Vinca minor Elisa

Vinca minor 'Elisa' is a variety with a compact habit, dark foliage, and pure white star-shaped flowers. More floriferous, denser, and very neat in appearance, it blossoms in spring, and often again in autumn, with bright flowers that contrast with its very dark green, evergreen and shiny foliage. Its well-covering vegetation creeps between the roots of trees, in poor soil, and even in the sun. It can be used as groundcover, in pots, in rockeries, or even in hanging baskets.

The lesser periwinkle is a creeping perennial with woody stems from the family Apocynaceae, native to central and southern Europe. 'Elisa' stands out with its very creeping habit and the brilliance of its beautiful star-shaped pure white flowers. This plant develops from a woody base, producing creeping or erect stems, forming a dense carpet 15 cm (6in) tall and 60 cm (24in) or more wide. In contact with the ground, the stems produce vigorous roots that allow the plant to continue its lateral growth. The stems bear opposite, ovate, very dark green, shiny leaves and produce solitary terminal flowers composed of 5 square, asymmetrical petals from February-March to May, and often in September-October.

Periwinkles are useful groundcovers, sometimes invasive. They will spread even in shaded areas, although it may be slightly less floriferous. It eventually forms thick intertwined mats, effectively covering the ground under trees or bushes, in rockeries or along pathways. It easily naturalises, in the company of Acanthus mollis, Geranium nodosum, Geranium Czakor, Dichondra repens or Ruine de Rome (Cymbalaria muralis), in a slightly wild understory. The ivy 'Gloire de Marengo', with its fabulous cream-variegated grey-green leaves, will form a beautiful association with Vinca minor 'Anna', in regions where winter is not too harsh. The compact habit of this variety is also suitable for filling pots.