A Detailed Guide to Growing Periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus) in Pots

Periwinkle, also called Wu Ban Mei (five-petal plum), is a very special flower. It can secrete a pest-preventing substance on its own, so basically throughout its entire growth period, periwinkle will not suffer from pest damage.Periwinkle plants grow 20-35 cm tall. The flowers come in red, white, scarlet and other colors, and it prefers a warm environment with plenty of sunlight. Next, let's talk about how to grow periwinkle in pots.

The first step is sowing. For open-field cultivation, you can choose mid-to-late April. Indoors in a greenhouse, as long as the temperature is around 20-25°C, you can sow and grow it all year round. For open-field sowing, simply broadcast the seeds and then cover them with a thin layer of soil. For greenhouse seedling raising, choose a 50-cell seedling tray and fill it with seedling substrate. After sowing, cover with a layer of vermiculite and water thoroughly. They will sprout in about 15 days.

Care: Once the seedlings grow to three leaves, pinch off the growing tips to ensure the side branches can also grow normally. During this period, you only need to keep the soil moist and the greenhouse temperature at around 20°C.

Potting: Choose a round flower pot about 20 cm in diameter and at least 18 cm tall, fill it with seedling substrate, water thoroughly, and then transplant the periwinkle seedlings into the pot. After potting, pinch the growing tips 2-3 times, and fertilize about once every half a month.

After about a month, a beautiful pot of periwinkle is ready.