Question
hello,
I have a 2 part question.
1. how do i control vincas? my neighbor has a vinca plant growing in his side yard and it's creeping into my yard (underground??) i can't seem to eradicate it so i wanted to control the growth (up my fence) but it just seems to continue to pop up (several feet away from the fence (meaning i don't see it around the fence but it's popping up a foot or two away from the fence). so, i feel like if i train it, it'll look funny starting a foot away from the fence...what can i do?
2. my house is one long rectangle w/ the front
of the house being the top of the narrow rectangle. it's about 40 feet wide w/ a door in the middle and a 1.5 ft wide and height being the same length of the door. the front door faces the west.  the problem is, there are no other windows. there is the door and the long window right next to it but nothing else. the house is white so it's really dull looking. i need to plant something in the front so that it'll add some appeal. it gets a lot of the day's sun.
i'm in zone 9 (northern california). the soil is clay.  i'd like it to be a vine or something that is more in height since there are no windows to fill the empty space.
thanks for your advice. plz let me know if the questions are unclear.
thanks

Answer
Hi Jaclyn,

Are you sure this is vinca? It is unusual for it to grow in the manner you describe. In any event, if it's that far away from the fence, you are correct you are not going to be able to train it. You only other option is to remove it or live with it. You can remove it by either digging it out or applying a weed killer. If you go with the weed killer just make sure you apply it on a calm day so spray doesn't blow into your neighbors yard and kill her vincas in the process.

As for vines you have many options. You could go with jasmine, passion flower, honeysuckle, and clematis just to name a few. I would visit a reputable nursery in your area and see what they have a available.

Regards,

Vito