Common Name: Annual VincaScientific Name Genus: CatharanthusFamily Name: ApocynceaeIdentification NotesIn New England, Annual Vinca must be grown in full sun and well-drained soil to perform well. Hot summer weather is helpful too, to get the best growth and flowering. In the South, Annual Vinca is as important for planting in hot, full sun locations as impatiens is for shady locations. In New England Annual Vinca often starts slow and reaches peak flowering in July and August. Annual Vinca is an appropriate plant for herb gardens as its extracts are used in modern medicine for treatment of some cancers.Life CycleAnnual Growth Habiterect or low spreading, to 18'' Leavesopposite oblong 1-3" long petioled, glossy dark green Flowerssolitary in leaf axils, corolla salverform, 5 lobed to 1" across rose, pink white; often with reddish eye. Flowers have a distinctive pinwheel look with a "pinhole" in the center Propagation Methodseeds Landscape Usesbedding, foreground of gardens, containers