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Annuals, Perennials, Tropicals > Catharanthus > Catharanthus roseus > Catharanthus roseus

Catharanthus roseus


Madagascar Periwinkle, Old Maid, Cayenne Jasmine, Rose Periwinkle




Origin:  Catharanthus from the Greek word katharos, meaning pure / without blemish and anthos which means flower.
Family
Apocynaceae
Genus
Catharanthus
Species
roseus
Category
Annuals, Perennials, Tropicals
Synonyms
Vinca rosea
USDA Hardiness Zone
10 - 11
Canadian Hardiness Zone
Requires cool season protection under glass.
RHS Hardiness Zone
H1c
Temperature (°C)
5 - 10
Height
15 - 46 cm
Spread
15 - 46 cm
Photographs
Description and Growing Information
Flowering Period
MayJuneJulyAugustSeptemberOctober
General Description
Catharanthus roseus or Madagascar Periwinkle is a tender perennial with attractive bushy foliage and profuse tubular flowers.
Landscape
Gravel garden, garden edging, ground cover, and city garden.
Cultivation
Grow under glass in a loam-based potting compost with full light and good ventilation. Can be grown outside but requires moist, well-drained soil.
Shape
Short, upright to bushy.
Growth
Fast
Pests
Glasshouse red spider mite and glasshouse whitefly may be a problem.
Leaf Description
2.5 - 5 cm, elongated with broad, rounded end like a spoon, green, smooth, shiny with a pale midrib.
Flower Description
Showy, phlox-like, rosy pink to red with mauve throats, five flattened petal-like lobes, appear singly in the upper leaf axils, to 3.75 cm across, tube 2.3 - 3 cm. Cultivar colours include pale pink, hot pink, red, lilac and white.
Fruit Description
To 3.75 cm.
Notable Specimens
Chelsea Physic Garden, London, United Kingdom.
Propagation
By seed planted under glass in late winter / early spring. Germination takes around 15 - 20 days at 21°C . In summer by green-wood or semi-ripe cuttings rooted in a closed case with bottom heat. Pot on young plants singly and grow on at 13 - 16°C n a humid atmosphere.
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