| General Description | Catharanthus roseus or Madagascar Periwinkle is a tender perennial with attractive bushy foliage and profuse tubular flowers. |
| Shape | Short, upright to bushy. |
| Landscape | Gravel garden, garden edging, ground cover, and city garden. |
| Propagation | By seed planted under glass in late winter / early spring. Germination takes around 15 - 20 days at 21°C . In summer by green-wood or semi-ripe cuttings rooted in a closed case with bottom heat. Pot on young plants singly and grow on at 13 - 16°C n a humid atmosphere. |
| Cultivation | Grow under glass in a loam-based potting compost with full light and good ventilation. Can be grown outside but requires moist, well-drained soil. |
| Pests | Glasshouse red spider mite and glasshouse whitefly may be a problem. |
| Notable Specimens | Chelsea Physic Garden, London, United Kingdom. |
| Leaf Description | 2.5 - 5 cm, elongated with broad, rounded end like a spoon, green, smooth, shiny with a pale midrib. |
| Flower Description | Showy, phlox-like, rosy pink to red with mauve throats, five flattened petal-like lobes, appear singly in the upper leaf axils, to 3.75 cm across, tube 2.3 - 3 cm. Cultivar colours include pale pink, hot pink, red, lilac and white. |
| Fruit Description | To 3.75 cm. |
