Cora Cascade vinca beats the heat, spreading color and happiness
Cora Cascade vinca has been beating the brutal Southern summers in simply amazing fashion and, if you are looking for trailing color, look no further. Make no mistake , Cora Cascade periwinkle or Cora vinca is a champion and will give you dazzling color whether you want a ground cover or a trailer spilling out of your favorite container.
If you haven’t tried vinca in a while it is probably because you had years of misery because of a disease called aerial phytophthora. Well, Cora and the trailing Cora Cascade are resistant to this soil-borne plague, making it oh-so-fun to grow the vinca or Madagascar periwinkle again. There are 10 colors and a mix in the Cora vinca and eight colors in the trailing Cora Cascade.
Instead of flowers that will shrivel and die within a few days, these workhorses will bloom all summer. While you are inside, staying cool and drinking your favorite beverage, the Cora Cascade vinca is blooming making you look like you have garnered the green thumb.
Even though the Cora and Cora Cascade vincas are disease resistant, there is no use planting too early in the spring. Wait until the soil has warmed and the plant is able to expand out of its rootball with vigor. If you have a hanging basket or mixed planter where some of your other annuals have croaked this summer, then pop in a Cora Cascade vinca.
Pay close attention to planting depth. Individual plants set too deeply expose the roots and stems to unfavorable growing conditions. Add a good layer of mulch after planting to stabilize soil temperatures and prevent rapid loss of moisture through evaporation. Mulch also will deter weeds from growing and competing for nutrients and water. Once established, the Cora and Cora Cascade vincas will tolerate droughts, so don’t overwater.
Their colorful flowers coupled with semi-glossy leaves let them work with ease in a tropical style garden. Use them in front of bananas or upright elephant ears, try growing them poolside. The truth is they will work in any setting from cottage gardens to modern landscapes.
Cora Cascade with its trailing habit gives you other options that are sensational in the landscape reaching about 6 inches in height and spreading close to 3 feet. They are incredible in baskets, mixed containers or window boxes where a virtual carpet of flowers will gently tumble over the edge. I just recently saw a terrific planting where Cora Cascade was tumbling over the edge and in the background was Diamond Frost euphorbia and Gold Mound duranta.