In defence of much maligned Periwinkle (Vinca Minor) ... As flegeling posted: "it does have a place in some situations, but often it is placed in places where it could cause problems. Where those probems don't exist, it can be attractive" & c..p..g..: posted as well: "I had a very pleasant patch under some Witch Hazel bushes for years without any problems." 25 yrs ago I planted mine under a Locust tree ... like wendyb had done, I allowed a few inches around, over the years as the tree grew ... tree became a problem due to tornado threats - limbs over roof ... was cut down! whew!!! I was afraid Periwinkle had gone too, after the stump/roots were grounded down ... they fortunately left a few small clumps that I nursed back to health. in 2 yrs, became a good mat ... very well behaved, even with just a 'pretend' barricade of rocks (w/o plastic edger) ... Periwinkle didn't know any better & stayed in place. Certainly a haircut, now & then (butched or pixie fringes as the mood pleases!) The site is now an L-shaped, garden bed w/ KO roses, yellow-mini-rose, Sentimental Blue-Platycodons, Li'l Spire, Lavenders, as well as, a large H Tardiva, an old Nikko H & a bird bath ... Periwinkle provides a nice sumptuous, dark-green mat & her Periwinkle-blue florets, welcome Spring along with the roses! No pretties have been choked to death yet. The tulips of 20 yrs ago, didn't complain either. Did I plant a timid type of Vinca M? I've recently created a corner-p/s-bed to move old Nikko to, this Fall ... pulled some rooted sprigs of old Periwinkle to (sooner than) eventually make a mat for old Nik. Arc Angel-Lamium, I think, is a worse invader & Snows on the Mt, as well ... in Jul/Aug, even looks like kids' football shirt after a muddy-scrimmage! Oh, you should see my retaining wall & bed of Baltic Ivy!!! :-( I love my Periwinkle & hope my neighbor won't use my name in vane, should the new bed overflow, with her long limbs & crawl thru the fence! ... Fingers crossed!!!~ FWIW! - sorry long story! Â:(

I have a friend who has a quite large, dry, mostly-shade bed. It originally was five trees, a few rhodies, and pretty much nothing else but vinca. We planted perennials into the bed amongst the vinca, and in their third year they are doing great for the most part. We planted hostas, lilies, lady's mantle, heucheras, astilbes, columbines, dicentra, and lobelia, to name some. Each spring, and then again maybe once in the late summer, we just rip out some vinca from around the perennials to give them a bit of room. It looks great, and the vinca is easy to rip out. The one thing that is more of a battle is that in an empty area we added lamium White Nancy. We think it looks fantastic where it meets and mixes with the vinca, but the vinca does kind of overpower it, so that area takes more vigilance to keep the lamium going. :) Dee

You will have to have to weed more during the time it takes to get the ground covers established. Mulching between the plants helps too. Here is a link that might be useful: Perennial ground cover tips

Hi Bob, Your plant is May apple, Podophyllum peltatum.