Best Vinca Companion Plants (With Photos)

Vinca is a famous plant that usually comes in purple colors. This plant is known for its maintenance abilities and its beautiful nature. Apart from purple, the plant comes in several other beautiful colors, like red and orange. There are several varieties of vinca plants you can choose from and they all have different maintenance needs.

The annual vinca is the most common type planted in gardens, and with proper care, maintaining this plant would not be such a work. The annual vinca is very easy to take care of, which is why many beginners prefer having this variety in their garden.

While looking for good vinca companion plants, be careful not to settle for the wrong plants as they can become invasive around your vinca plant, suffocating it to death. Below, we will look at the best companion plants for vinca!

Best Vinca Companion Plants

1. Dahlia 

The dahlia is a famous plant native to both central parts of America and even Mexico. These plants are related to sunflowers, zinnias, and even daisies, and even if these flowers look pretty similar, you will notice that the shape of their flowers is entirely different. 

Dahlia is a stunning perennial flower that you can have close to your vincas in your garden, which means that it would last for years with proper maintenance. The flowers of the vinca plants would blossom every spring and can be able to last you for an entire season. 

Vincas love sunlight, just like the dahlias, so there wouldn’t be a problem with them staying together in that aspect. Dahlia is excellent and goes well with many other plants due to its ability to stay both under the sun and in the shade. Dahlias come in various colors, so you can get whatever color you want with the vinca.

See Also: Orange Rocket Barberry Companion Plants

2. Coleus 

Coleus is another excellent plant that can go well with the vinca plants. Several types of coleuses can be planted both as annual and perennial plants. A significant factor that affects how your coleus would act is the temperature in that area because the coleus would act better under sunlight or high heat. 

You should ensure that you don’t plant your coleus under shades for too long, and it should be getting at least eight hours of sunlight a day, or else you will notice that your plant will start dying.

So, if you stay in a place where the temperature is high enough, your coleus would last longer, but if you stay in colder regions, I would not advise you to get coleus plants. 

An amazing fact about the coleus is that it has no flowers, but its unique leaves still come in various colors. So, combining a unique coleus plant with your vinca plant would give your garden a pleasing look. The only thing you have to ensure is that you maintain your coleus plant for you to get the best out of it. 

3. Sweet Potato Vine

Sweet potato vines are majorly used as ornamental plants, meaning they are majorly used for decorations and can still use as a companion plant for vinca plants. Like the vinca plant, this annual plant grows leaves in various colors, making it easier for you to pair with your vinca plants. 

This plant grows with leaves of different colors that can spread around your garden fast. Due to its ability to spread around like vines, many people use these plants as a ground season. 

Sweet potato vines require a warm temperature for them to grow healthy, so if you take proper care of its vines and place it under the right weather with the right amount of watering, be ready to watch your plant last for a longer time.

Since the vines of these plants spread quickly, you might want to trim them every once in a while, so knowing the best cutting technique would be helpful. 

These companion plants mentioned here are one of the best you can find out there, although several other ones are good enough. These stand out because they have similar maintenance methods as the vinca, making it even easier to care for both without stressing too much.

See Also: 13 Best Eucalyptus Companion Plants

How To Care for Vinca Plants

Light Needs

 Vinca plants prefer being planted under the sun, but they would also do well in partial and complete shades only for a short period. You should also ensure that it gets moderate sunlight and shade because if you leave it under the sunlight for too long, it might develop burns. 

Soil Requirements

Vinca plants require soils that drain well to be able to thrive. If you want the plant to fill in your area quickly, you should plant them about a foot apart so there is space for the roots to develop, hence the plant’s growth. They tolerate poor soils but would do better in well-draining soils. 

Watering Requirements

Vinca plants would do better in moist soils, even drought tolerant. 

Humidity and temperature 

Although this is a vigorous plant, it can quickly get diseases from moist and wet areas. In addition, these plants do not tolerate frosts, so if you can, you should take these pants indoors during the winter so they can last longer. 

Fertilizers 

Fertilizing younger vincas give It a boost by helping it develop a brilliant green color and also helps it prepare for blooms. Ensure that you apply equal amounts of essential elements like nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus if you notice that your soil lacks these essential elements.

Some common diseases and pests to this plant include aphids, scales, spider mites, and white flies, and for this, you can use horticultural oils, insecticides, soap, and neem oil to curb some common diseases to affect this plant the fungal leaf spot.

Unfortunately, there is no sure cure for this, so whenever your plant develops this disease, you should prune that part off to ensure it doesn’t spread to other plants. To avoid these fungal leave spots, water the soil and not directly on the plant’s leaves.