I have both columbine and myrtle (Vinca minor) which I bought for the side of my property along the drip line (lead-contaminated soil so no edibles there). Can I plant them together or will the myrtle choke out the columbine (or vice versa)? Any guidelines for planting? (a few small bushes are already growing there and plenty of day lilies available for transplanting).
1 Answer
There's no reason why you can't plant the two together, but a word of advice regarding the Vinca minor - every year, after its main flowering is over (in spring) pull all the growth up into the air and cut it off so that there's just a clump left about 3 inches long. This keeps the plant nice and bushy - if you don't do this, you'll finish up with long lengths of stem growing over bare ground with clumps of growth on the ends all over the place. Equally with the columbine (I assume you mean Aquilegia), keep any eye on any seedlings - they do tend to seed themselves prolifically and they're usually not the variety you actually bought. You can get round this by removing the flowered stems at their bases once they're finished, but even then, some will be missed and you'll find seedlings popping up. A few extra seedlings may be just fine - 20 or 30 might not be...