When I returned to Pakistan as a child, one of the most common flowers that I encountered in Karachi was the sadabahar [periwinkle]. This beautiful plant, with its characteristic white or pink flowers, would continue to thrive and flower throughout the year.

However, it didn’t strike my fancy. Being easy to grow, and widely available and accessible was one of the reasons I lost interest in the plant. My focus was more on growing unique fruits, herbs, flowers and vegetables. Even when I came across the plant — whether growing in a pot or a nursery — I would choose to ignore it subconsciously, while focusing on absolutely anything else.

However, over the last few weeks, my inbox has been flooded with questions on the vinca flowering plant, which is another name for the sadabahar. This made me realise its importance for those who love to grow flowers, especially flowers for all seasons.

The vinca or sadabahar is more commonly known as periwinkle and Madagascar periwinkle. It is scientifically known as Catharanthus roseus and the plant belongs to the Apocynaceae family.

The vinca plant flowers throughout the year, is easy to manage and needs minimal space to grow…

Vinca is a flowering shrub that attains the height of roughly two to three feet. It’s very popular as a household plant due to its ability to produce flowers throughout the year, while requiring minimal care compared to other flowering plants.

This column will focus on the F1 hybrid variety of the vinca flowering plant. Here, F1 refers to the first generation of plants and seeds that grows from the cross between two plant species.

The F1 vinca plants are smaller and, therefore, need even less space to grow. One can even grow a number of plants in a small raised bed. Interestingly, a very small-sized plant of hardly ten to twelve inches in height can also produce flowers. These flowers of the hybrid plant have exuberant and bright shades, ranging from white to peach and pink to purple as well as those of the multi-coloured variety.

The seeds of this flowering plant are small, hard and black in colour. The F1 seeds of vinca are generally selected and purchased in line with the local climate and the space available for planting. If the grower communicates the space constraints to the seed seller, the seller can likely provide the ideal variety of hybrid vinca seeds for that space.

In tropical regions, the best time to sow the seeds is anytime between February and September or within the temperature range of 22 to 28 degrees Celsius. They, however, do not germinate properly and grow poorly during extreme cold and, therefore, the sowing and germination process should take place indoors in colder regions.

Initially, the vinca seeds do not require any particular type of soil to grow or the application of any of the pre-germination seed scarification processes. The soil used for sowing the hybrid vinca seeds should be the nursery soil. It should be well-drained and without any pebbles and stones.

In case the seeds are sown at the plant’s permanent position, then the ideal sowing distance should be at least one foot away from the other seeds. However, in case the seeds are being sown at a temporary location, with the intention to segregate and transplant later, then the seeds are sprinkled over the soil surface and covered with a fine layer of soil.

Once the seedlings are grown, they are usually transplanted when they reach a height of around two to three inches and have already grown their first few true leaves. In favourable conditions, the hybrid vinca flower seeds are likely to germinate within two weeks of sowing. One may even witness the growth of the first flower within two to three weeks of the seeds’ germination.

A few steps can be taken to ensure the sustainability and increased flowering of the hybrid vinca flowers. In my upcoming articles, I will elaborate on how the plant can be boosted to increase its flowers, and the remedies needed in case of any pest attack or plant infection.

Please send your queries and emails to doctree101@hotmail.com. The writer is a physician and a host for the YouTube channel ‘DocTree Gardening’ promoting organic kitchen gardening

Published in Dawn, EOS, August 18th, 2024