Don't let dogs eat the flowers in the garden.
Creeping myrtle (Vinca minor) may be better known by its alias, periwinkle. Creeping myrtle is a mounding groundcover plant that only grows a few inches tall but has a broad, 3-foot spread. In addition to its attractive foliage, gardeners grow the plant for its pinwheel-like flowers. Besides the standard, bright bluish-purple flowers, other creeping myrtle cultivars produce lavender, reddish-lavender or white flowers. The name of this plant's family, dogbane, hints that creeping myrtle has an unsavory side.
Plant Characteristics
Vinca minor is also called simply "vinca" or creeping myrtle.
Vinca minor is easy to cultivate and blooms in mid- to late spring, often continuing to bloom, though less abundantly, throughout the summer and into early autumn. Creeping myrtle forms a dense, trailing, prostate or mounding mat in the garden and is one of the few groundcovers willing to bloom in shady areas. The small, tubular, flowers resemble phlox. Creeping myrtle's 1.5-inch-long leaves are evergreen. The trailing stems take root as they grow along the ground. Creeping myrtle grows easily from cuttings rather than seeds.
Toxicity
Dogs that eat vinca may experience hallucinations and other symptoms of toxicity.
All parts of the creeping myrtle and its cultivars are poisonous not only to dogs, but to humans as well. If your dog ingests creeping myrtle, it may experience hallucinations, according to the American Kennel Club's website section on poisonous plants. Another type of periwinkle, Vinca rosea or running myrtle, is a close cousin of creeping myrtle, with similar flowers but different growing conditions. A dog that eats this plant may experience diarrhea, vomiting, seizure or coma. In severe poisoning cases, the pet can die, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals poison control center.
Creeping Myrtle Substitutes
Juniper, shown here, grows in similar conditions as creeping myrtle.
If creeping myrtle is a source of concern in the garden, consider replacing it with less toxic plants. Evergreen, creeping species such as liriope or pachysandra or evergreen woody groundcovers like creeping juniper or Russian arborvitae all have height and spread measurements similar to creeping myrtle.
Uses
Grow vinca in hanging baskets your dog cannot reach.
Besides its value as a groundcover in the garden, creeping myrtle lends color and texture to hillsides and can help strengthen and improve areas of the yard damaged by erosion. The plant grows quickly and trails attractively over the sides of containers and planters. If your dog likes to eat plants, creeping myrtle is a good choice for hanging planters the dog can't reach. In areas the dog does not visit, you can plant creeping myrtle to fill bare spots beneath woody plants.
Despite its poisonous nature, creeping myrtle has medicinal value and is the source for the drug vincamine, which is used to treat senility.
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