Vinca Minor

[lazarusgxp]

I planted 500 vinca minor bare root plants mid summer in Connecticut. The area is a shady, tree covered hill.

Lately the leaves from the trees are falling on top of the vinca, and I'm wondering if that is what is causing some damage to the vinca leaves. Please see the photos. The leaves are very big and they certainly trap moisture.

Should I cut off any affected vinca leaves with damage? Is it ok to use a leaf blower to clean out the tree leaves, or will I damage to the shoots that are spreading from the vinca plants? Is there anything I can do to strengthen these plants before winter?

Thanks for any advice!!

 

[Tetters]

Welcome to the forum @lazarusgxp. Please don't worry about the vinca, it is as tough as old boots. The falling leaves will do no harm at all, and the damage on the leaves will be due to a few little creatures having a munch.
May I ask which variety of vinca you chose

 

[Marck]

Greetings, welcome to the Forums.

Lesser Periwinkle (Vinca minor), in the Dogbane family (Apocynaceae), native to Europe and the Caucasus, is best used as an occasional accent in garden design, but is also too-frequently used as a large-scale groundcover, where it tends towards dull monotony. In any case, at larger scales, one must expect and cannot worry about minor damage. Still, it is always a good education to find out what herbivorous invertebrates are present. Go out an hour after sunset and see what you can find. Some of the damage is suggestive of slugs and snails (Eupulmonata, Gastropoda, Mollusca). The benefits of leaf litter mulch to the health of the soil outweigh any concerns that it may partly shade out Vinca minor.