Nearly Native - European Garden Plants – Sweet Pea

Name – Lathyrus odoratus, as sweet peas are properly known, derive their name from the Greek word, lathyros, for ‘pea’ or ‘pulse,’ and the Latin word for ‘fragrant,’ odoratus.

Description – The soft to strong fragrance and delicate appearance makes the sweet pea a total garden favourite. The flowers appear on untidy scrambling tendrilled stems that will need support on a wigwam of canes, a cordon or even up a trellis. Flowers need to be picked every day because once the peas have set seed, they cease to flower. While a wide range of colours and even dwarf plants are available, the best scents are to be found, generally speaking on the darkest flowers, and pastel shades and frilled sweet peas tend to have lighter scents or no fragrance at all.

Origin – Plants are traditionally sown in pots in the autumn as this produces sturdy specimens that will be ready for planting out early next spring. To get a high germination rate, pre-germinate the seed on a sheet of damp kitchen paper. After a few days, the viable seeds will swell with water and a tiny root will appear. They can then be sown in pots of multi-purpose compost. The resulting seedlings should have their growing tips pinched out when they have produced two pairs of leaves to encourage side shoots. This is important as the original shoot will often fail to flower. Sweet peas are hungry plants and love rich soil with plenty of added humus, and as much sun as they can get.

For Decoration - Keep cool, always in water, and away from ripening fruit. Commercial sweet peas are treated after cutting to prolong their life for up to a week, but garden-cut ones may only last one or two days.

European sweet pea photograph by bc anna, used under a creative commons attribution

 

© blueworldgardener.co.uk