I'm being taken over

[desertcat]

Ok, let me start by saying that I know that some people LIKE vinca and tend it lovingly. That said, does anyone know an effective method of killing it out once it has taken over?

To date, I've used RoundUp (vinca laughs), my hands, a shovel, and some other herbicide that even kills bermuda grass (sort of). Nothing is keeping it gone for more than a couple of weeks. Is this going to be a lifelong battle, or will the roots eventually become more exhausted than I am?

 

[wifezilla]

The only thing I have found to kill unwanted weeds is to put down a plastic tarp and LEAVE IT for about A YEAR. Then try planting in the resulting dead spot.

I actually like vinca, but have mine growing in a barrel where it is restrained I do, however, have bind weed. That stuff is EVIL!!!

 

[digitS']

The colors are what I appreciate most about vinca. In a "green challenged" summer landscape, the deep green of the foliage is welcome. The flower color is special for DD and me . . . father/daughter thing. I once painted our house with a color to match .

Vinca grows in 2 places in my yard: at the edge of the deck and under a little round picnic table that we use for a plant stand. The lawn mower and weed wacker seem to do a good job keeping it out of the lawn grass. (And, the hens are tearing the "bejeebers" out of it under that table .)

Okay, after all that . . . Round-up: You know that there are different dilutions depending on things like use on perennial weeds or annual weeds, right? I always dilute for the annuals since those are mostly what try to grow in the paths between the ornamentals.

There will be some perennials like bind weed that show up but I'm out there with a sprayer about every 3 weeks. I can hit the poor, damaged perennial weed a 2nd time or even a 3rd time. After 6 weeks and a 3-spraying attack, nothing survives except something like Virginia creeper . . . which may creep in over a fence.

For VA creeper, I keep a small paint brush in the garage and will dip it in the bottle of Round-up and paint it on the freshly cut vine. I'm not sure if handling R-up this way is recommended - but it's what I do.

And, there's my 2 . . .

Steve ♪♫

 

[desertcat]

Ahh, the path of least resistance! Will try the tarp.

Truthfully, I like vinca too, but we unearthed waaayy to much of it when we started cleaning up the previous owner's left-behinds and this summer, while I was busy doing other stuff, it went absolutely berserk and attempted to take over the patio and everything near it. I think it heard we were handing out water!

Have to agree on the bindweed. Nasty, nasty stuff (although it does have pretty flowers )

 

[simple life]

My chickens did mine in. I had a 15x20 section of it that had been creeping over from my neighbor's yard for years, the chickens had it gone in one summer.
I actually like vinca but it does grow wherever it wants, I have it around the edges of the yard and that is fine but I can use the part they cleared for other things now.

 

[seedcorn]

If glysophates don't work, try Ignite. For Ignite to work, you have to have complete coverage of the plant. It's a contact killer similiar to glysophates but w/different chemistry. Doesn't drift, so safer around other plants. If you get some on another plant, it will only kill the part of the plant that gets the overspray and not the whole plant.

 

[HiDelight]

I do not love or tend to vinca I can not stand it ..it invaded our greenbelt to the pont of choking out native species ..that and the English Ivy are the bane of my life in the garden ..and the buttercups and the morning glory but the vinca is the topic...

thank you for mentioning it and I will be glued to this in hopes I can use the techniques to get rid of ours as well

I tried using the chickens on the greenbelt but the scratching and pooping seemed to stimulate the vinca and ivy

 

[elf]

I hate vinca major, because it's too snakey, but vinca minor is a tidier, slower-growing groundcover that I have used successfully to prevent erosion of banks, and it doesn't need mowing because the smaller leaf keeps it low to the ground. So vinca haters, don't condemn the species until you've met little sister. But big sis has to go. Only sucess I've had is with pulling it up and feeding to chickens or filling holes in my driveway.

 

[desertcat]

Knock on wood, the vinca finally seems to be under control. I never got around to trying the tarp, but it looks like 2 summers of digging, Roundup and more digging are starting to take their toll. The one remaining clump flowered this spring...probably hoping I'd think it's pretty (which it is) and that I'd leave it alone (which I won't).