Catharanthus roseus Light Pink Dark Eye - Madagascar periwinkle

Madagascar periwinkle, Catharanthus roseus Soirée™ Light Pink Dark Eye is a small plant ideal for enlivening summer displays with its countless very pale pink flowers with a dark centre. Its low, compact habit, long-lasting flowering, and good heat tolerance make it an excellent variety for sunny balconies as well as the front of borders. Used en masse, this variety creates vibrant edging, visible from a distance.

This selection belongs to the Catharanthus roseus species, the Madagascar periwinkle, a member of the Apocynaceae family. The species originates from the dry coastal areas of Madagascar, where it grows spontaneously on sandy, stony or poor soils, sometimes by roadsides or on dunes. It has borne the botanical names Vinca rosea or Lochnera rosea in the past, still occasionally used in horticultural literature.
Soirée™ Light Pink Dark Eye is part of a recent series developed by the breeders Suntory Flowers and distributed in Europe by MNP / Suntory. This cultivar was selected for its very compact habit, good branching and early, abundant flowering. It is a perennial in the strict sense, but, in our climates, it is grown as an annual, as it does not tolerate frost. The plant reaches 15-20 cm in height with a spread of 25 to 30 cm in a pot. Its thin, flexible, well-branched stems contain a white latex characteristic of the Apocynaceae. The foliage is evergreen where frost-free and is formed of opposite, entire, ovate to lanceolate, 3 to 5 cm long, glossy, dark green leaves, with a lighter central vein. The flowers are solitary or gathered in small clusters at the ends of the stems; they measure approximately 4 cm in diameter. In this variety, the petals are a very pale pink and are arranged around a very dark central eye, carmine pink to purple, which gives the flower depth. Flowering begins in May or early June, depending on temperature, and continues until the first frosts.
Like the garden periwinkles or Vinca, the plant contains alkaloids, which are the basis for drugs used in chemotherapy; in traditional medicine in Madagascar, it has also long been used in various preparations. In the garden, it is strictly reserved for decorative use.

Plant Madagascar periwinkle Soirée™ Light Pink Dark Eye in sun or partial shade, in a light, well-drained soil. It is a very good plant for a balcony or terrace, well suited to pots 15 to 20 cm in diameter. In the garden, plant it in a ribbon in front of taller plants. You can combine it with other Madagascar periwinkles, Osteospermum Deep Purple, Verbena Pink Parfait and Calibrachoa Million Bells® Trailing Ice. Mix this periwinkle with cultivars from the same series like 'Soirée White' or 'Soirée Pink White Eye', in a long, neat-looking border.

Note: Please note, plug plants are products reserved for experienced gardeners: upon receipt, pot them on and store them under cover (conservatory, greenhouse, cold frame...) at a temperature above 14°C for a few weeks before being placed outdoors once all risk of frost has passed.