Is Periwinkle (Vinca) deer resistant?

Evergreen, shade-tolerant and effective at covering ground, which is why it was planted so widely and why it is now a problem across much of the eastern United States.

It escapes gardens into woodland and forms a dense mat that stops tree seedlings regenerating. Several states list it. Check before planting, and if you have it already, know that it spreads by rooting at every node, so pulling it out means getting every fragment.

Deer browse it lightly, mostly in winter. If you want an evergreen shade carpet without the ecological cost, Siberian cypress and Allegheny spurge both do the job and neither runs.

Do deer eat vinca?

Seldom. Rutgers rates Vinca minor, the periwinkle, Seldom Severely Damaged, B, and NC State lists deer among what it resists with drought, dry soil, erosion, heavy shade, poor soil and salt. The leathery evergreen leaf is the reason; it is browsed lightly in winter and left in summer.

This is the groundcover vinca. The bedding plant sold as vinca, annual vinca, is Catharanthus, a different plant that Rutgers rates A among the annuals.

Should you plant it?

Probably not, and NC State says why: "Its aggressive nature has won periwinkle a spot on many states' most unwanted lists," and it "is classified as an invasive species by the NC Invasive Plant Council." The encyclopedia records it as listed in six states. It roots at every node and forms a mat that stops tree seedlings, and a deer leaving it alone is not a reason to add it to a woodland edge. Allegheny spurge and Russian cypress give an evergreen shade carpet without the escape.

Where it grows

NC State: zones 4a to 9b, 3 to 6 inches, dappled or full sun to partial shade, blue flowers spring into summer.

If it is browsed

It regrows from the runners without noticing. The plant that survives everything is the plant that ends up everywhere, and that is the argument.