​Vinca, aka periwinkle, is a super popular plant during Louisiana summers. The flower is everywhere you look and for good reason. The flower looks fantastic in Louisiana landscapes. It does well in hot weather and in drier conditions. Unfortunately wet weather and cool temperatures become the perfect environment for Phytophthora blight, the vinca killer. This disease is always present in the soil, but can affect vinca when conditions favor it for too long. It spreads easily by rain splashing onto neighboring vinca, causing crown and root rot. It can wipe out an entire planting in no time.

Here are some best practices for planting vinca: 

• Stick with newer varieties like Nirvana for example.
• Use thin a thin layer of pine straw mulch to prevent soil splashing.
• Do not plant vinca two years in a row in the same place.
• Rotate in a different flower every other year to reduce the active disease presence.
• Use periwinkle in pots with good drainage. Change the soil next year if you want to plant periwinkle again.
• Less is more when using irrigation. Vinca will die much sooner by over-watering than under-watering.

If you have a hard surface that holds water, installing a drain and pipe is your best choice. When hard surface are put down, they are angles toward the area you want the water to runoff toward. Over time, concrete and tile tend to settle and change the angle they drain. Installing a few drains that pipe the water away from the area underground will get your hardscapes drier, quicker.

The lay of your property should have been graded when your home was built. There should be a smooth and gentle slope from your home toward the area you want the water to move toward when it rains. If the water pools toward your home’s foundation, then you have either a grading or swale issue. Adding a swale can direct the water to one area more quickly. Think of a swale as a very small ditch in your grass. Swales are better used in large fields or in places where you would not mind the ground being uneven. A good grade will move the water where you want, without sacrificing the ground's evenness. Correctly grading your land is hard and is best done with heavy equipment by a professional. If you need have a drainage problem that needs a drainage solution, contact GreenSeasons.