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Vinca Jams n Jellies

12 years ago

Does anyone have any experience growing this particular kind of Vinca? Is it the same as the regular annual Vinca? I just received 100 seeds today and it sounds like I am late getting out of the gate already. Oh well, better late than never.

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Comments (7)

rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
12 years ago
Yes, your 'Jams and Jellies Blackberry' vinca is Catharanthus roseus, commonly known as annual vinca. It's just a new color variety.

Why do you say it's late? I assume that you will be starting these inside.
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nana8
Original Author
12 years ago
I say it is late because annual vinca usually takes me about 13 weeks to get a decent size plug.
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I started Jams N Jellies the last day of December. Information I gathered from gardening sites on the web said that they are slow growers, and they are. I now have full sized plants that are blooming. I made the mistake not to label them and planted 2 types of vinca so I had to wait until they bloomed. I gave some away to my mother and sister on Mother's Day that were not blooming. Some of the ones that I kept have since started to bloom inside under grow lights and I see 1 is jams N jellies. This is my first time posting on this site although I have been reading post for almost 2 years. I was excited to hear that someone else was growing vinca jams N jellies. I will try to post a picture tomorrow. It felt good to go to Home Depot and see their Vinca and see that the ones I had grown at home look just as healthy and full as theirs. I will never pay for a vinca again except for seeds. This post was edited by amsonia2 on Sat, May 18, 13 at 20:10
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That is a gorgeous color... I wonder if maybe Vinca could replace the Impatience as the mainstay bedder plant? This last winter so many folks had their Impatience suddenly die-off, and learned it is a genetic weakness due to over-breeding by the growers... I'm hesitant to get any more when Fall rolls around, i usually get abt. 5-6 of the 18-plant flats and at $10. per flat that's a bit pricey to have it all just up and die after a month or two.... maybe Vinca is the answer? sally
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It's hard to save a partial pouch of liquid pectin - I'd try using powdered pectin (which you can start with maybe 1T and work up if needed). I got this recipe off an extension webite (forget which), it calls for 1 package (1.75 oz) but you can use less. APRICOT PEPPER JELLY Makes 6 half-pint (250-ml) jars. 1 1/4 cups dried apricot halves, finely slivered 300 ml 1 cup red or green bell pepper strips 250 ml (about 1 medium-size pepper) 1/3 cup chopped jalapeno or other hot pepper, stems and seeds removed 75 ml 2 cups cider vinegar (5%) 500 ml 4 cups sugar 1 L 1 package powdered fruit pectin 1/2 tsp butter or margarine 2 ml 5 drops red or green food coloring 5 drops (depending on the type of pepper used) 1. Cover dried apricots with boiling water. Leave for approximately 10 minutes. Drain. 2. Combine bell pepper strips, chopped hot peppers, drained apricots, and 1/2 cup (125 ml) vinegar in a food processor or blender. Process until partially ground with small chunks remaining. Pour into a saucepan. 3. Mix 1/4 cup (63 ml) sugar with pectin. Stir into fruit mixture. Add butter and food coloring. 4. Bring to a boil quickly, stirring constantly. Immediately stir in remaining sugar. 5. Bring to a full boil, stirring, and boil hard for 1 minute. Remove from heat. 6. Skim foam off the top. Then ladle jelly into hot half-pint jars, leaving 1/4 inch (0.5 cm) of headspace. 7. Wipe jar rims with a clean, damp cloth. Secure lids and ring bands, and process in a boiling water bath as prescribed in Table 8. Table 8. Recommended Processing Time for Apricot Pepper Jelly in a Water Bath Canner Processing Time at Altitudes of 0-1,000 ft 1,001-6,000 ft above 6,000 ft Jar Size half-pint or pint 15 min 20 min 25 min I like the jelly a little runny, so I don't use pectin in this one at all, the apricots are enough. You could also try adding a little homemade apple pectin/juice if you want to use liquid.
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Comments (6)
I was joking - people would think the quilted ones were fancier so I could ask more. Ball does more for the jars (haven't checked this year - last year was about $12/dozen compared to $8 for plain - and I just picked up 2 unopened older BOXES of quilted from Goodwill for $8/doz). Jars just keep going up each year. It was just 2-3 years ago I could get a dozen plain jars for $6.77 at WM, now it's at least $7.97 - maybe more this year. And I need lids too. Used my last box of RM lids, had to open a box of new lids& bands (I got a couple of those on clearance at grocery store last year). Still reusing jars (after we empty them I wash old lids & bands and store jars with those on top so can just pop jars in canner to heat and not have to wash again - just wash and heat new lids). Oh, and by the time I got the last jar filled the pan had set 5 minutes (I'm slow when I have to skim) and still floating a little. But I think part of it is that this is a syrup, not a setting type jelly/jam. Didn't cook it long enough (or have enough natural pectin) for that. Popped in a couple of replacement cherry toms today (broken stems) but holding off on more since it supposed to be 45 tonight (!) and I have to prep for market. Ones I planted 2 days ago look good, others are starting to look better now that it's dried out a *little* (only 1" of rain in the past 6 days), I'll fertilize tomorrow. Did you get a chance to look at my post on the Tomato thread? Do you think N only (bloodmeal) or light balanced fertilizer (Neptune's Harvest is liquid, can use that, maybe as a foliar feed, with only 30% chance of rain this weekend I guess, it's a 2-3-1, don't know if I need the P&K though since soil was pretty good, figured just N washed out?)? Time to go pick strawberries, clean the wet hay of the truck bed and start packing it for market. With all the tomato plants and the jams, fresh strawberries, I have to see if there's room on the table for some herbs (sprigs of oregano, I just got some tarragon from a friend last night to plant, and my cousin's mint)? Maybe some kale?
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mxk3 z5b_MI
10 years ago
I was debating ordering seeds for the Jams-n-Jellies but decided against because I couldn't think of where I put them, I wasn't sure what to do with the unusual color.

I was at the nursery last week and saw them blooming next to pure white vinca --> W-O-W!!! They also looked great next to that flaming hot pink vinca with the white eye.

I bought a couple 4-packs of the J&J and white vinca to combine with, I have a pot this will look fantastic in.

So, yea -- unusual color but I ended up really liking it one I saw it. :0)
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idloveamocha
10 years ago
I started these from seed in early February under grow lights and constantly on a heat mat.
I've been very disappointed in the growth rate. It is now week 17 since sowing, and the plants are 2" tall maximum. Last weekend I decided to just put them in the garden and see. They were in 3" pots that are about 4" deep. The roots were extremely shallow.

I've never had such a poor result from anything that I've started from seed.

I ended up supplementing them with jams n jellies that I found at my local garden center. The pack had the bright magenta and white mixed in as well, so they look wonderful!
They are beautiful. However, I'll never grow them from seed again.
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mxk3 z5b_MI
10 years ago
Yea, vinca can be a little touchy - I grow them every year from seed and some years they are fantastic and other years they don't do too well. I think maybe sometimes I provide just a bit too much moisture - but it can be hard to walk that fine line at times because don't ever want seedlings to dry out yet vinca is quite touchy about too much moisture. Oh well. At least we found them locally and can enjoy them that way :0)
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mxk3 z5b_MI
10 years ago
Yea, vinca can be a little touchy - I grow them every year from seed and some years they are fantastic and other years they don't do too well. I think maybe sometimes I provide just a bit too much moisture - but it can be hard to walk that fine line at times because don't ever want seedlings to dry out yet vinca is quite touchy about too much moisture. Oh well. At least we found them locally and can enjoy them that way :0)
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mxk3 z5b_MI
10 years ago
Uh, well....I'm going to have temper my rave. They are fantastic combined with white, but trying to place them in the garden is tricky. They don't show up well from a distance, and they don't look good in certain pots to my eye. Also not easy to combine with other plant colors in the vicinity. So...just not an easy color to work with in general IMO.
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