Vinca minor Josefine

Vinca minor 'Josefine', is a particularly robust, healthy and floriferous periwinkle with vigorous and ramified evergreen vegetation capable of efficiently and rapidly covering the ground. It is covered with small star-shaped flowers in bright blue-mauve in early spring, then again in autumn.  This prolific variety proves perfect for ornamental use in difficult areas, including under trees and conifers. It forms a elegant carpet composed of small, shiny and evergreen leaves, attractive all year round, even in shaded and dry soil in summer.

The small-flowered periwinkle is a creeping perennial with woody stems from the Apocynaceae family, native to central and southern Europe. It populates woods, hedges, rocks, and even dry and sunny meadows, and can sometimes become invasive.

'Josefine', of horticultural origin, stands out for its good health, rapid growth and very dense habit. This plant develops from a woody base, producing creeping or slightly erect stems, forming a dense carpet 15 cm (6in) tall and 1 m (3ft) or more wide. In contact with the ground, the stems produce vigorous roots that allow the plant to continue its lateral growth. The foliage of this variety is resistant to rust, which often disfigures common varieties in humid climates. The stems bear opposite, narrow and ovate, dark green, shiny leaves, and produce solitary terminal flowers in March-April and again from October, in a light and bright blue-mauve colour, composed of five square, asymmetrical petals.

Periwinkles are useful, sometimes invasive groundcovers. They will spread even in shady areas, where they may be slightly less floriferous. They eventually form thick interwoven mats, effectively covering the ground under trees or bushes, in rockeries or along paths. 'Josefine' will easily naturalise in shade or partial shade, in the company of Acanthus mollis, Dichondra repens, Lamiums or Ivy-leaved toadflax (Cymbalaria muralis), in a slightly wild understory, even under a hedge of cypress or Thuja. The variegated ivy 'Gloire de Marengo', with its fabulous cream-variegated grey-green leaves, will make a beautiful combination with Vinca minor in regions where winter is not too harsh. In full sun, it will accompany silver baskets (Cerastium tomentosum), Phyla nodiflora, Leptinella, antennaria, wild thyme, Waldsteinia ternata, and many other groundcovers...