5 Pedal Flower with Red Dot in Center

Hi,

Thank you for reading.

I am growing a garden in the planter
in the front of the house.

In this planter are a bunch of flowers
that have 5 pedals and a red dot in the
center of the pedal.

MOST of the pedals are white, but one
plant sprouted up in the center that is
a purple color with the same red dot in
the center of the pedal.

ALL of these plants have grown (multiplied)
from one single plant and I have replanted
them and spread them out and am expecting
them to fully take over the planter by early
summer.

My issue is that I don't even know the
name of this plant and would like to
know...

Oh yeah, I forgot...
I live near Tampa, FL, if that helps any?

Any ideas?

Thanks,
Christopher

Could you supply a picture?
And it's called peTal

Dear Rikesh,

Thank you for replying.

Re: Spelling of PeTal;
I noticed that after I pressed
the "Submit" button ...
I couldn't edit the post and
Spellcheck didn't pick that up...

Re: Picture of the flowers;
Is there an 'upload' section on your
forum, or will I have to use photobucket
or some other picture hosting site?

I will have to get the picture when My
wife returns with the camera later on
today...
The pics of the flower are on the SD
Card and she has the camera right now.

Thanks,
Christopher

Christopher, I'm afraid you'll have to register to upload a picture. Else you can use photobucket.

Don't worry about the petal. Spell check did not find it as it was confused with the word pedal.

Dear Rikesh,

Thank you for your patience.

I registered and am attaching a pic of the
flower that I would like identified.

Thanks,
Christopher

Thanks. Our members will surely help you

Catharanthus roseus (Madagasgar periwinkle) an endemic annual and source of anti-cancer drug Vincristine.

Dear Kate (LabourofLove,)

Thank you VERY MUCH!

That is EXACTLY what I have! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosy_Periwinkle

Just curious, how did you know where to look
to find out, or did you already know what
the plant is?

I will have to look up caring for these
plants.

I'll also have to keep a little distance
between My younger children and this plant.

This plant sure has a pleasant appearance
to it and I'm quite impressed on how it
has multiplied and had one sibling grow
as a purple plant as opposed to the white
flowers that it came from.

I'm hoping to have this plant completely
dominate My front yard (Planters and front
section of the yard.)

If I can get these to multiply faster,
that would be great.

Again, thank you very much for your help!

~Christopher

I grew up in South Florida where it is EVERYWHERE - grows in cracks in pavement and sidewalks. No lie, and it's crossbreeds rather promiscuously. Some years you will have mostly one color, other years, different ones.

If you pinch it back, you can get a really bushy, many-flowered plant that will last until you get a frost.

Dear Kate,

Thanks.

I apologize for the confusion, but when
you say,

"Pinch it back,"

what exactly do you mean by that?

I'm kinda new to 'gardening' and taking
care of plants.

"grows in cracks in pavement and sidewalks"

Yes, I can see now how it can...

ALL of these "Madagascar Periwinkles" have
come from one plant that I started taking
care of after replanting the 'parent' plant
that My Son had pulled from the planter
earlier in the year...

I've been so impressed with this plant that
I give it all of the attention that I can,
including watering it at least once, but
usually twice a day...

Thanks,
Christopher

I have it too. Didn't know its name before. And I confirm it grows in every crack. One just grew on the edge of my house.

When the plant gets to be a bit leggy (spindly) take the top half of the primary stem off: tat will make the plant branch. You can keep doing that as stems become long and leggy and the plant will become very bushy.

Dear Kate,

Thank you for elaborating.

I'm guessing that the top half cannot
be replanted, am I correct?

That would be nice if it could be,
though...

Is there a way to get them to multiply,
besides pinching them back?

I'm guessing that I would have to plant
their flowers (and stem part of the
flower) to grow them, is that true?

Thanks,
Christopher

Rikesh wrote:

I have it too. Didn't know its name before. And I confirm it grows in every crack. One just grew on the edge of my house.

Dear Rikesh,

Are you located anywhere near Florida?

~Christopher

To the best of my knowledge, re-planted cuttings won't survive. I do not know of anyone who cared enough to try rooting hormone on 'em. That being said, you could try and let us know.

Madagasgar periwinkle is grown primarily from seed - just allow yours to mature and spread it around on bare ground - soon you will have thousands.

FirstBorn wrote:

Rikesh wrote:

I have it too. Didn't know its name before. And I confirm it grows in every crack. One just grew on the edge of my house.

Dear Rikesh,

Are you located anywhere near Florida?

~Christopher

No Christopher. I'm faaaaaaaaaaaar away.

LabourofLove wrote:

To the best of my knowledge, re-planted cuttings won't survive. I do not know of anyone who cared enough to try rooting hormone on 'em. That being said, you could try and let us know.

Madagasgar periwinkle is grown primarily from seed - just allow yours to mature and spread it around on bare ground - soon you will have thousands.

I never cared for mine. Some grow in my garden, others just grow anywhere.. And I throw them away. Really. Its a weed for me.

There are white ones, pinkish, and some are white with pink centers.

There are some other colors now - not just the common white, pink & lavender.

LabourofLove wrote:
To the best of my knowledge, re-planted cuttings won't survive. I do not know of anyone who cared enough to try rooting hormone on 'em. That being said, you could try and let us know.

Madagasgar periwinkle is grown primarily from seed - just allow yours to mature and spread it around on bare ground - soon you will have thousands.

Dear Kate,

Thank you for explaining.

Where are the seeds located?
I'm guessing inside the flower petal's stems?

What is 'rooting hormone' that you mentioned?

Thanks.

Rikesh wrote:

I never cared for mine. Some grow in my garden, others just grow anywhere.. And I throw them away. Really. Its a weed for me.

There are white ones, pinkish, and some are white with pink centers.

That just goes to show that one person's Weeds are another person's beauty. haha

~Christopher

Wow, you should acquire a good, basic gardening book. After the blooms drop (done blooming) little pods will form IF that individual flower was pollinated. After a while, the pods will become larger and turn brown. That's when you collect the seed. Truly the easiest way is to clear a circle around the plant (no weeds or grass - just soil - and let the seed drop on the bare earth and germinate (making new plants).

If it's windy, you'll get lots of plants everywhere
By the way, I'm from Mauritius. A little island to the right of Madagascar. I guess that's why they grow prolifically.

People still use it in their garden. It's really easy to grow.

If you're new to gardening, you could try your hand on some easy plants.
Investing in a book is good. You can use the internet to learn things too. Then discuss it here