Vinca And Blue Star Creeper, Two Ground Covers

Vinca and Blue Star Creeper make a wonderful plant duo in a variety of gardens and landscapes. Both of these specimens make striking ground covers on slopes, rock gardens and a flat surface.

The Blue Star Creeper is native to Australia and can be seen in the breathtaking foothills and Alps. Each of these plant families are considered an evergreen, perennial or hardy annual, depending on your geographic location. They are also considered low maintenance.

I have used both of these plants in many different designs. Each can represent a simple solution to problem areas. I wanted to share a little information on each of these specimens so you could have the option to put one or both of them into your landscape plan.

There are many varieties of Vinca grown today. The two pictures are the Minor Myrtle plant. It grows well in zones four through ten.

The Minor's highlight is its rich lavender colored flowers. They will appear in mid spring and continue throughout the summer and fall months. Other flower colors of the Minor include white, pink, and a wine tone. The Minor will mature anywhere from four inches to a foot tall, and up to five to six feet wide. This is a fantastic plant for partial shade to shade areas. Creating a mass of Vinca throughout a bank along with some varieties of Juniper, will give you a full appearance year around.

The Major variety will grow from one foot to one and a half feet in height and up to eight feet in width. The Major will do well in zones seven through ten. I recommend to my clients to add some organic mushroom compost to the soil as this will enhance the growth of this specie.



Mushroom compost is a great organic fertilizer for most plants. This plant family provides so many options in your garden and compliments many other evergreen shrubs as well as annual and perennial flowers.

The Blue Star Creeper is a gorgeous full plant especially planted in a mass setting. This specie is used a lot in rock gardens, slopes, banks, and for ground covers.

The Blue Creeper will mature to one to two inches tall and sprawl out anywhere from one foot to one and a half feet wide. This is considered an evergreen in warmer climates and a semi-evergreen in colder locations. The Creeper grows well in zones five through ten. The flowers create an a sparkling ray of white and blue color. This is a wonderful plant for full sun, partial shade to shade area.

This is also native to other mountain areas and seen along hillsides during the summer months. The blooms repeat throughout the growing season.

The Blue Creeper loves moist and well drained soil, but don't over water. This is a great ground cover for around a tree. Many established trees have roots above the ground. Adding some good quality top soil around the tree and planting a full bed of the Blue Star Creeper will give a great addition to your yard.

Both of Vinca and the Blue Star Creeper can give you a very simple solution for a problem area, sprucing up your gardens, or filling in a landscape area.