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How do I stop the periwinkle invasion

lisaduthie1lisaduthie1 Posts: 10
in Plants
Hi, I am just starting to try and clear our new garden which is very overgrown. We have periwinkle overtaking the flowerbeds, also it is growing by our garden fence, where I think the previous owners must have been tipping their grass cuttings. Any tips on how I can get rid of it please. The garden edges I could be more ruthless, the flowerbeds, I think there could be plants underneath it, as some signs of skeleton plants. Many thanks! Lisa 

Posts

  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    edited February 2023
    @lisaduthie1 I would cut them hard back with shears this will reveal the plants at soil level. Then dig them up if that is what you want to do. There is risk that you may cut back other things.
    You say skeleton plants are visible they may well have been smothered by the periwinkle chances are they are last years growth. 
    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 3,742
    Agree with @GardenerSuze - they spread like mad - particularly the V major - cut back to see the individual clumps and dig up. If you want to keep some, put them in a container and keep an eye on them. 
    If you are concerned about digging up something you want to keep then you will need to shake each clump about as much as possible to see if anything has been caught up.
  • Silver surferSilver surfer Posts: 4,719
    i would not cut them back.
    Use the long shoots to try pulling it out root and all.
    Success will depend on your soil...much easier in leafy loam.
    At best it may delay progress a little.
    Perthshire. SCOTLAND .
  • Slow-wormSlow-worm Posts: 1,630
    I'd pull them, I have a a small patch of it in a border, I've pulled most of it and left some because I like it, but it's really easy to pull. 
  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    edited February 2023
    @Silver surfer If only I could pull things up out of my soil. I have worked in gardens where lifting and splitting was so easy as the soil was loamy, it makes things so much easier. Clay soil can take twice as long and everything has to be dug up even things I no longer want.

    @lisaduthie1 Try tugging first I think it will be much quicker if it works!



    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    I found vinca very difficult to dig out of the clay in my previous garden. Couldn't pull it up. Not sure what to advise apart from hard work. Good luck!
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    edited February 2023
    Your garden doesn't look overgrown to me.  Just rather natural.

    What do you plan for the pariculat areas you show.  Just mowing would control  Vinca minor, which has quite a nice flower in enough light.
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    There are a few days in the year when conditions make heavy clay perfectly workable.( Usually a few days after heavy rain as the soil begins to dry out). This would be a good time to pull out the vinca . However, there may be other gardening jobs you prefer to do during this short window of opportunity.
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • bcpathomebcpathome Posts: 1,313
    Just pull it up ….yeah right . Not in my garden ! It has to be dug . If you leave just one little bit you’ll be back to square one in no time . Digging it up where you don’t want it is the only answer I’m afraid .
  • ButtercupdaysButtercupdays Posts: 4,546
    What are you wanting to grow there instead? It will be hard to establish many plants due to the competition from the trees, as well as probable shade too.
    As @bede said, your garden looks natural. The Vinca is going to keep coming through from the other side of the fence anyway, but because the fence is see through, it links with the woodland and turns it into borrowed landscape and makes your garden feel bigger. You could make a feature of it instead by adding some woodland plants, such as bluebells and sweet woodruff - another potential thug but pretty and not too hard to remove. Just run the mower along the edge of the patch from time to time to control the spread. :)
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