They getting leggy, wondering if giving them a haircut in hot Aug will help. Tks
Periwinkles and impatiens, do you trim?
done! for better or for worse
Dont think I have ever seen anyone bother to trim periwinkles and impatiens, -dianthus, liriope, salvias, yes. Let us know what they do...
Vinca is bushier and in full bloom after 2 weeks. Impatiens, not as enthusiastic in returning
My 'gardener' cut my Vinca down to about 5 inches tall. After 2 months is has returned and is covered with flowers.
Trim dianthus, salvia, liriope, vinca, pansies(that have survived) ummm,stock, snapdragons, petunias, drat, brain quit. These are plants that bush up and return in spring. USUALLY you wait for end of bloom flush- and trim back to just remove legginess. Impatiens I dont remember trimming these...
In my experience, impatiens are only annuals & get very sad if I trim them. Also susceptible to spider mites? I didn't plant any in my shade garden this year. But I do love their vivid colors.
Yep, impatiens did not like haircut at all! Two of the 3 I had potted succumbed to dampoff of some kind so I took them out and replaced
But look at the vinca, they are growing like mad, daring me to trim again
Gorgeous! And I love your walkway too😊
I've gone too far this time. I cut my plants down to 6" from the ground. As long as they leaf out before the next rainy spell, they should be OK. If the rains come too soon, they'll succumb to fungus and/or mildew. We shall see....
I used to take cuttings from impatiens in fall, rinse well in good warm water and root in potting soil in the house. This was when my oldest children were toddlers, and I was at home more. Without that thorough rinse off they are very vulnerable to spider mites when brought in.
There was a request for Periwinkle plant material from a DGer in Florida posted not long ago. IF you have some to trim or pull up contact Ethnobotany13. You can search for post by them and find it also. I think it was a school project.
Sorry, this escaped me. I threw in the compost pile within minutes after trimming. Would those have even survived?
Lesson learned: don't prune after September. If temps get cool enough, they'll just slow down enough that they might not grow again or even bloom. Here is a pic of my vinca with a handful of flowers. The plants leafed out but it just didn't get warm enough for them to bloom profusely. I've had to fill in the gaps with some lovely violas.
In contrast, another section of the garden that was never pruned, has kept its blooms or maybe continued to bloom without the trauma of being pruned.
CONCLUSION: if legginess drives you crazy, go ahead and prune but no later than Sep. If you don't want to bother, then don't, as it seems vincas will continue to bloom until a killing frost.
