Front Porch Titan Lavender Blue Halo Vinca Bedding Annuals Mid-Summer Update - August 2026

Yesterday, I posted a photo showing the mid-Summer update on the 36 Titan Halo Lavender Blue Annual Vinca that are planted down by the sidewalk in the Island bed.  I talked about how they had grown slowly the first two months - all of June and July - but have recently put on some size.  A little too late for my taste, though.  At least down there where they're supposed to provide some curb appeal.

Further back, in the front porch bed, I also planted Titan Halo Lavender Blue vinca plugs.  I planted 76 of them in the newly expanded bed.  

In 2025, I planted 64 vinca plugs.  They were bedding vinca from the big box store.  Nothing special.  But, by the end of July they had created a carpet of color.  Branching out and filling in.  And continuous flowering.  They were great.  So great that I went ham on annual Vinca this year.  

With...what I thought was a 'better' vinca.  At least, bigger and bolder.  And, better in terms of flowering.   And, that part has turned out to be true.  

The color and flowers on these are big and lovely.  As I said yesterday...DGN colors.  I like that a lot.  I'm not drawn too much to pinks in the garden, so these being purple are closer to where I like to live in the garden.

But, the spacing?  That part has been a little disappointing.  

We're 60 days into the season with these and it has taken that long to grow up and branch-out. 

But, there's still lots of space showing between them.  A carpet?  No.  Part of a carpet with holes?  Sort-of.  

Below are some photos showing the current state of these annuals.  I planted 76.  In the newly expanded bed.  I mostly went with a two row planting closer to the stoop.  And three rows as it moved wider towards the south.  That might not have been enough.

Here's a shot from the stoop below.  You can see the bare spots.

Below is a shot from the yard.  From this perspective, you can't see the bare spots and it looks more like a carpet. 

Down at the edge, near the south property line tells a different story.  A big, bare spot.  Where a number of the plugs died.  This part of the property handles surface water.  So...I'm thinking that they actually died not from drought, but by being drowned and suffocated with wet roots.  

 I wrote yesterday this:

The color, on the other hand, is great.  I really like these.  Pale purple.  Downers Grove North colors.  Can't beat that, right?   Just need to buy 25% to 30% more, I think.  Instead of 36 in this space, maybe try 44 or 45.    Wannemaker's sells flats of 40 for $23.  I bought 120 plugs, 3 flats.  If I go up from 76 to 95 in the front porch bed (more on that in a separate post) and from 36 to 45 here, that gets me to an even 140.  But, I also like them IB2DWs.  So, call it 160.  

That would be 4 flats of 40.  That is...if I don't expand this bed even further this Fall.