Improving an area with vinca as ground cover - Ask Extension
We have an area with little sun that has a lot of vinca but also a lot of weeds. A knowledgeable gardener at a nursery suggested that we use a herbici...
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Improving an area with vinca as ground cover #931847
Asked May 15, 2026, 3:25 PM EDT
We have an area with little sun that has a lot of vinca but also a lot of weeds. A knowledgeable gardener at a nursery suggested that we use a herbicide in the spring to kill the newly growing weeds while not interfering with the vinca that is well established. What do you think?
Thanks a lot for your help.
Howard County Maryland
Expert Response
There is no herbicide we are aware of that would selectively kill the weeds in a Vinca planting while not also causing damage to the Vinca in the process. That said, Vinca minor and its cousin Vinca major are invasive species in our region and we recommend their removal when possible. In that regard, you could do both -- take out weeds with the Vinca -- as a simpler option for replanting. Our Groundcovers web page provides some ideas for replacement species if you're amenable to a replanting of the area. Otherwise, weeds in a patch of Vinca would need to be removed manually or spot-treated carefully with herbicide so that overspray doesn't get on the Vinca foliage.
Miri
Miri
