Sadabahar plant is amongst the easiest flower plant to grow at home and is known by many names like periwinkle, vinca, etc.
And it is always a good choice to add this perennial flowering plant to your home garden for an evergreen touch.
But growing them for the first time can be a bit confusing.
How to Grow Sadabahar Plant At Home?
To grow the Sadabahar plant at home, you can either grow it from seeds or cuttings. Use well-draining potting soil and provide it with a lot of direct sun, with watering it sparingly when the soil dries out.
Today, I will share with you both the methods of growing Vinca/Periwinkle/Sadabahar at home which is from seeds and cuttings.
But first, let’s have:
A Quick Overview of Growing Periwinkle/Sadabahar/Vinca at Home In Pots
| Sunlight | Direct & Partial Sunlight ( 5-6 hours) |
| Soil Ph | Slightly Acidic (5.6 ph. -6 ph.) |
| Growing time | Mar- April (Summers) |
| Germination Time | 6-10 days |
How to Grow Sadabahar Plant At Home (Step By Step)
Table of Content
- Preparing Potting soil
- Getting a Container
- Sunlight Requirement of Sadabahar
- How to grow Sadabahar from Seeds
- How To grow Sadabahar From Cutting
- Sadabahar Plant Care
Preparing Potting Soil For Sadabahar Plant
What type of potting soil is good for Sadabahar?
The only requirement for its soil is that it should be fast draining.
This means the water should flush out of the container quickly.
For this, you can add 20%-30% of sand or gravel to the potting soil and it will be good to go.
So, an ideal growing medium for Sadabahar will consist of:
- 35% Garden Soil
- 15% Coco Peat
- 25% Vermicompost
- 25% Sand
If you want to avoid the work of making your own potting soil at home.
You can always order a good quality pre-made potting soil (like this one from amazon).
Finding the Right Size Container For Growing Periwinkle
Now the next step is to choose the right size container.
For the Sadabahar plant, a 10-inch pot or grow bag will be sufficient, make a drainage hole in it and put a stone over the drainage hole this will stop potting soil to escape and simultaneously allow air and excess water to pass through. (Here is a good quality plastic pot on amazon)
Although you will need a 6-inch pot for cuttings.
Once the container is finalized, fill the potting soil inside it with the help of a trowel leaving a few inches from the top.
Does Sadabahar Need Sunlight?
Yes, Sadabahar needs sunlight. In fact, the best location for Sadabahar plant will be the one that gets direct sunlight in the morning and indirect/filtered sunlight in the afternoon.
So, a spot that receives both direct and indirect sunlight is the best for periwinkle/vinca.
It is a sun-loving plant so it requires around 5-6 hours of sunlight every day & will grow the best.
Growing Sadabahar From Seeds
Let’s look at the steps of growing Sadabahar plants from seeds.
The first thing is to get a seedling tray or flat tray for sowing the seeds.
Fill it with a potting mix that consists mainly of compost, sand, and soil:
- 50% compost
- 25% sand
- 25% soil
This potting mix is used for seed germination only. Mix them well.
Now, water the potting mix to make it moist.
After this, sprinkle the seeds of periwinkle over it in such a way that they have some space among them.
Add a layer of potting mix over the seeds and spray them with water with the help of a water sprayer.
Do not use a high-pressure watering can as it will displace the seeds.
Now, put the seedling tray in a location where it can get bright indirect sunlight, as the seeds won’t be able to handle the direct sunlight.
After 6-10 days you will see that the seeds have started to germinate.
Water them regularly and maintain moist soil.
After 30-40 days, they will be ready to get repotted into to the final container.
Get a good-sized container (10-12 inches) with a drainage hole and fill it with potting soil.
Make space for sapling in the potting soil.
Use a trowel and get one sapling out of the seedling tray, be very careful that you don’t mess up with the root system.
Now insert it inside the hole you made.
And simply water it.
And keep the container where it can receive an adequate amount of sunlight.
That is it.
Also read:
Vegetable Growing Season Chart India
Winter Flowers in India
How to Grow Sadabahar Plant From Cutting
The easiest way to grow sadabahar plant is through cuttings as it bypasses the time of waiting for the seeds to germinate.
To grow the Sadabahar plant from cutting, all you need is 3-4 healthy cuttings from the top of the Sadabahar plant, cuttings should be 4-5 inches in size. Remove the leaves from the bottom of the cutting and only let the top ones stay.
Then fill a 6-inch pot with potting soil and insert these cuttings into it.
Put this pot in a location from where it can receive indirect sunlight as direct sunlight will be too much for these cuttings.
And, keep the soil moist.
Once these cuttings grow big, transplant each one of them into a bigger pot, and place it in direct sunlight.
Adding Nutrients
Sadabahar loves to feed on fertilizer once a month which keeps it healthy and thriving.
For this, you can either add vermicompost or cow dung and even make your own compost at home from kitchen waste.
Mix it well with the soil after adding it, without hurting the roots and disturbing the plant.
Sadabahar Plant Care
For Sadabahar plant care, you need to grow it in fast-draining potting soil, properly water it, and provide it ample amount of sunlight. To help it produce flowers, keep feeding it with fertilizer from time to time.
Sadabahar Plant Leaves Turning Yellow And Falling
The Yellowing of sadabahar leaves is a sign of overwatering. To revive your plant back to normal, allow the soil to dry out completely and from then onwards only water when the top of the soil becomes dry.
Insert your finger inside the soil and there are high chances you will find the soil sticky and very wet.
Because most of the time overwatering is the case for the yellowing of leaves.
If you don’t take action immediately, it can very well turn into root rot and it will become very difficult to save it then.
If this is the case then you will need to take your plant out of the container and cut out the infected roots and repot the plant in a container with proper drainage holes.
Not Having The Right Type Of Potting Soil
Sadabahar plants love to stay dry and are good drought-resistant plants.
For this, it needs fast draining soil as well. Because standing in a moist environment for a long time is not what it is fond of.
So, one of the most important care tips for the Sadabahar plant is having good draining soil.
You can add perlite or sand to potting soil to achieve that.
Soil is Not Acidic (Sadabahar Plant Care Tips)
As I told you above the periwinkle plant prefers a bit of acidic soil, and if it doesn’t get the preferred soil it will start to show you the sign that it is not enjoying growing up in the environment.
One obvious sign will be the yellowing of the leaves.
So, if you know you are not overwatering the plant, but still, the leaves are turning yellow.
Then it can be because of the soil not being acidic.
To make the soil acidic, you can add a thin layer (2cm) of coco peat on the top of the soil.
You can also add 1tbsp of vinegar to 1-liter water and use it for watering.
Both these methods will help.
Protecting From Rain
You should consider taking your vinca plants indoors or keeping them under shade during monsoon season or any day when you feel it can rain heavily.
As rain can cause overwatering and continuous rain will cause root rot in them which also increases the chances of fungus in the soil.
So, during monsoon season you can provide shade to your periwinkle plant to keep good care of them.
Sunlight – Vital Part Of Sadabahar Plant Care
If you have just brought a small plant from a nursery or online, then you should not expose it to the direct sun as it is usually kept under shade.
Keep it in a location where it gets bright indirect sunlight.
After a few days, expose it to the direct morning sunlight and move under shade during the afternoon.
Once it has matured it will need at least 4-5 hours of direct sunlight.
Over To You:
Hope you will now be able to grow vinca plants easily at home.
If you still have any doubts do let me know in the comment section.
