Annual / color · North Texas care guide
Catharanthus roseus
Nursery Pro tip: The plant for July. Plant late (May) into warm soil and don't overwater.
The annual that thrives when everything else melts — glossy leaves and flat five-petaled flowers in pink, white, red, purple and apricot, blooming from June through October in full brutal sun. Cora and Titan series have the disease resistance that the old varieties lacked.
Full sun and heat, in a well-drained bed — raised is better. Space 10–12 in apart.
Wait for warm soil: May, not April. Vinca planted into cool, wet spring ground gets root rot and never recovers, which is the single most common failure with this plant. Root Stimulator at planting, light mulch kept off the stems.
Sparingly — once a week at most, at the base, letting the soil dry between waterings. Overwatered vinca dies.
A light feeding at planting and once midsummer.
None needed; it's self-cleaning. Pinch stretched stems if you like.
Phytophthora and rhizoctonia root rot from cool soil, wet beds or overwatering — the whole planting can collapse in a week. Don't replant vinca in a bed where it's rotted before. Aerial phytophthora in a rainy spell.
Hot parking-strip and driveway beds with lantana, marigolds and purple fountain grass. The plant for the spot that bakes.
Written for Rockwall's black clay, heat and winters by the Landscape Source team. Every yard is different — bring a photo by, or ask LS-Ai, and we'll tailor it to your spot.