One of the joys of having sweet peas in the garden is the profusion of blooms available for cutting, whether these are cordon grown plants or simply a bush in the garden. Cut the blooms and the plant will reward you by producing more. The speed with which new blooms develop is such that no concerns need be entertained about how long they last once cut. When we buy flowers from the florist, we want them to last because we have parted with hard earned cash to acquire them. But with your own sweet peas in the garden, you can have fresh blooms every day if you want to.

A few sweet peas in a room will quickly fill it with the most delicious scent. There is also the choice of a very wide range of colours available; all sorts of different shades and hues so that the serious flower arranger can find a sweet pea to match most of their well planned creations. And here a word for the other species of Lathyrus, those cousins of the sweet pea of some 160 species. For the sweet pea, in all its different forms and colours, is only one species and there are many more to explore. Lathyrus species have a glorious range of colours, wider even than sweet peas and including all the primary colours. These miniature gems mostly have smaller flowers than sweet peas and are delightful for miniature and petite arrangements. But we must return to the use of sweet peas in floral decoration, where their dainty form and placement of the blooms create delicious opportunities. But in considering the use of sweet peas for effective decorative arrangements, let us not lose sight of the pleasure that a small vase or bowl of sweet pea blooms, idly placed in variety, can give.

Use of Colour

This is not the place to discuss in detail finer points of the use of colour in flower arrangements generally. It is sufficient to appreciate that some colours complement one another while others clash. To some extent this is a matter of personal taste but there are colour combinations which most people agree should be avoided. Some people prefer strong contrasting colours while others prefer complementary pastel shades. Some colours are considered warm (e.g. many reds) and others cold (e.g. blues). Some such as blue and yellow hit the eye faster because of their wavelength.

Mixtures of colours can be very attractive but my preference is for a blend of two, three or occasionally more colours. Care should be taken to ensure that white ground and cream ground peas are not mixed. Cream will blend with salmon pink on cream ground, for example, but not salmon pink on white ground. Strong contrasts such as cream and mauve, white and maroon, pale pink and crimson, work well. Very close colours are best avoided, for example scarlet and orange-red, pale blue and lavender. The recent trend by seedsmen to offer their own blend of themed colours will be welcome to many people. Because we are a small business, Roger Parsons Sweet Peas are able to blend any combination of varieties to suit the individual wishes of the grower.

May 2005

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The first documented reference to the sweet pea is by Franciscus Cupani in 1695 in his Sillabus Plantarum Sicillae-nuper Dectarum. This was simply a list of plants newly discovered in Sicily. He first describes it in 1696 in his Hortus Catholicus. Plant names in those days were long descriptions in Latin and the name given by Cupani, to what in modern English we call the sweet pea, was Lathyrus distoplatyphylos, hirsutus, mollis, magno et peramoeno, flore odoro. The earliest illustration of a sweet pea is in Casper Commelin’s Horti-Medici Amstelodamensis, published in 1701 in the Netherlands, which he states was prepared from plants grown from seeds sent to him by Cupani in 1699. The artist is Jan Mominckx. In 1753, Linnaeus established the binomial system of plant names still used by botanists today. He shortened Cupani’s name of the sweet pea to Lathyrus odoratus.

It is believed that the sweet pea was introduced into England when Cupani also sent seeds to. Robert Uvedale, a schoolmaster at Enfield, in 1699 but there is no contemporary evidence for this. The original sweet pea is described by Leonard Plukenet in his Almagesti Botanici Mantissa of 1700. Dried specimens of sweet peas from Plukenet’s herbarium are stored at the Natural History Museum in London. Plukenet died in 1706 but in 1713, James Petiver describes the plant and says:
“This is the elegant sweet-flowered plant I first observed with Dr. Plukenet in Dr. Uvedale’s most curious garden at Enfield, and since at Chelsea and elsewhere”.

The wild sweet pea is often described as purple but is in fact a maroon and violet bicolour. We maintain a stock of this type from seed collected in Sicily in 1975. The sweet pea is renowned for throwing rogue colours and this tendency must have appeared at an early stage. H.B. Rupp, in his Flora Jenensis of 1718, says of the sweet pea:
“Sometimes it varies with a white flower”.
Following Petiver’s account, there are several references to seedsmen selling “sweet sented pease” in the 1720’s. A catalogue of Robert Furber from the 1730’s lists purple, white and “variegated or Painted Lady sweet-scented pea”. In 1775, Weston, in Flora Anglicana, mentions Lathyrus odoratus coccineus, the scarlet sweet pea. The scarlet form is again mentioned in 1782. W. Curtis in 1788 says:
“There is scarcely a plant more generally cultivated than the sweet pea….Several varieties of this plant are enumerated by authors, but general cultivation extends to two only, the one with blossoms perfectly white, and the other white and rose-coloured, commonly called the Painted Lady Pea.”

By 1793, a seedsman named John Mason of Fleet Street, London catalogued and described five varieties: black, purple, scarlet, white and Painted Lady. It is interesting to speculate what these might have looked like. In vigour and constitution, they were probably little different to the wild sweet pea introduced nearly 100 years earlier. We can assume Mason’s purple to be the wild type in colouring. Painted Lady was the pink and white bicolour. It is unlikely to be the same as the Painted Lady which is commonly grown today since this has been ‘re-discovered’ as a throwback among later cultivars. Early sweet peas had 2 or 3 flowers per stem, were shorter and less vigorous. It was only with the advent of commercial hybridisation in the second half of the 19th century that the height, vigour and number of flowers were increased to create what Henry Eckford called Grandifloras, a name given to distinguish from earlier forms. Black could have been a dark maroon but more likely a darker form of the purple wild type. A black-purple is mentioned in 1800. The scarlet would not have been the colour we have today. Since this arose a little over 100 years ago, but was rose, carmine or magenta.

For anyone interested in growing 18th century varieties, we have a genuine wild type which has more primitive characteristics than so-called “original” sweet peas such as Cupani and Matucana. We also have a primitive form of Painted Lady and hope to be able to release this in 2006.

May 2005

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This article is concerned with variation within the sweet pea, Lathyrus odoratus, and does not deal with other species of Lathyrus. Apart from differences in flower colour, sweet peas can be categorised according to the form of the flower, seasonality, number of flowers, number of petals, height and leaf type, Classification of flower colour will be covered in a different article.

FORM OF THE FLOWER
Most sweet peas grown today are of the Spencer type. Until the arrival of this type, sweet pea flowers had smaller, plain flowers with a clamped keel petal. Silas Cole, head gardener at Althorp Park, Northamptonshire, caused amazement at the 1901 National Sweet Pea Exhibition by displaying a variety with larger, wavy standard petals and an open keel. He named this ‘Countess Spencer’ after his employer. The Old Fashioned type of sweet pea, sometimes called Grandiflora or Pre-Spencer, remains available in numerous varieties and is widely valued for its exceptional scent. Some varieties are found which are intermediate between the two: they may for example have larger wavy petals and a clamped keel; or larger plain petals with an open keel. Intermediate forms are sometimes referred to as Semi-Grandiflora types.

SEASONALITY
Most sweet peas grown in the United Kingdom are Summer flowering. Those of Spencer form are called Late Spencers and these are the vast majority of sweet pea varieties, with which the gardener is familiar. All dwarf and intermediate height varieties are Summer flowering. Almost all Old-Fashioned types are also Summer flowering. The exception to this is ‘Blanche Ferry’, named in 1889, which was originally released as an early flowering form of ‘Painted Lady’. I suspect that the two have got a little mixed since there are stocks of ‘Blanche Ferry’ which flower in summer and stocks of ‘Painted Lady’ which flower earlier. Early Spencers may be either Spring flowering or Winter flowering, and these are more popular in warmer climates such as the southern United States, Australia and Japan. They are also grown in the United Kingdom under heated glass to provide early cut flower crops. Here in southern England, the Winter flowering types can be brought into flower as early as February and will crop through to April. The Spring flowering types flower in April and May. In truth, individual varieties have varying levels of earliness and may be intermediate between the three categories of season. Much of the work to develop Spring flowering Spencers was done in the United States by Frank Cuthbertson, working for the Ferry-Morse seed company and they are also known as the Cuthbertson type. In 1965, Ferry-Morse released an improved series of these known as the Royal series, or Royals.

NUMBER OF FLOWERS
Old fashioned sweet peas generally have 2 or 3, occasionally 4 flowers on each flower stem. Late Spencer sweet peas generally have 3 to 5 flowers on each stem. These are known as pauciflora types. Florists tend to prefer a minimum of 5 or 6 flowers on a stem and so multiflora types have been developed to achieve this. Cuthbertson Floribunda series was introduced as an improved multiflora form of Cuthbertson types but today the two series are confused. Winter flowering types are mostly early multifloras. In 1960, Denholm introduced the Early Multiflora Gigantea series and these were succeeded by the Mammoth series. In 1982, Winter Elegance series was introduced and the latest evolution of this form is the Winter Sunshine series from Owl’s Acre Nursery. Galaxy series, introduced in 1958 by Burpee, are Late Spencer multiforas.

NUMBER OF PETALS
In addition to increased number of flowers on each stem, florist also wanted the flowers to be more frilly. The classic pea flower, in its Simplex form, consists of an upright standard or banner petal, two horizontal petals known as wings, and two small lower petals which have fused to form a keel, containing the flower’s reproductive parts. Existing old fashioned varieties are not normally found to have additional petals to this but additional wavy petals create the extra frilliness which florists desire. Some varieties have been developed for this characteristic and are known as Duplex flowers and even Triplex flowers, depending on the number of additional petals found. Early Spencers are mostly of Duplex form, particularly Winter types, but it is also found in some Late Spencers.

HEIGHT
All the series of sweet pea mentioned so far have been Tall growing and therefore the plants need support to climb. A very Dwarf series of old fashioned flower type, known as ‘Cupids’, were introduced in the 1890’s and these are still available under a range of series names such as Cupid, Sweetie, Pinnochio, Rockery and Cherub. These grow to about 20cm in height. Forms of varying intermediate height have subsequently been developed and are sometimes called Bush types. The Spencer flower form has been introduced, for example Bijou series, introduced by Burpee in 1962, is a cross between dwarf seedlings and Galaxy series to produce a dwarf multiflora. Knee-Hi series resulted from crosses between an earlier series and Cuthbertson types and are an intermediate multiflora. Jet-Set series arose from crosses between Knee-Hi series and Royal series.

LEAF TYPE
Most sweet pea leaves have a single pair of leaflets ending in tendrils which the plant uses in

the wild to climb. This type of leave is called Unijugate. The tendrils are an adaptation for climbing formed by reducing additional leaflets to a single midrib. Forms which lack this adaptation have been selected and these are known as Acacia-leaved or Multijugate. Some Late Spencer varieties have this characteristic. It is also found in the dwarf Snoopea series, raised by Jim Tandy for E.W.King & Co. and introduced in the 1970’s. These were followed by Supersnoop series, introduced in the 1980’s.

May 2005

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Lathyrus is a rare example of a genus with flowers in the three primary colours of red, blue and yellow. The Sweet Pea has a remarkable range of colours but this is nothing compared with these other species. The species are evenly divided between those which are perennial and those which are annual. Hybridisation between the species is very rare so it is possible to maintain a collection of annual species true to type. The decorative value of the different groups is considered below.

Self-supporting Perennials

These are perhaps the easiest to grow since they are low perennials that require no support and can be accommodated in any garden. The Spring Pea, L.vernus, provides welcome blooms in early Spring, followed by a decorative mound of green foliage to about 40cm high. It comes in various colour forms of which the pink and white bicolour is delightful among the yellows and blues of other plants so commonly found at that time of year. This is followed by L.aureus, with brownish yellow flowers, and then L.venetus with attractive purple blooms. The later species flower, the taller they become until the climbing perennials are Summer flowering. These three are of woodland origin but L.laxiflorus is perhaps better suited to the rock garden where it is smothered in mauve and lavender bicoloured flowers. If cut back after flowering, it should produce a second flush in early to mid Summer.

Climbing Perennials

Equally easy, but requiring support or room to sprawl, are the climbing perennials such as L.latifolius. This comes in various colour shades from deep magenta through to pink and white but does not always come true from seed. The group has dense bushy foliage on vigorous growth and are useful for screening but the foliage dies back in Winter. There are several related species that all provide blooms for cutting. Most choice is perhaps the Persian Everlasting Pea, L.rotundifolius, found in red and pink forms with foliage a little less coarse than the others.

Two very exotic climbing perennials proving hardy in sheltered southern gardens during most Winters, are L.pubescens and Lord Anson’s Pea, L.nervosus. Both are from South America and have large racemes of violet blue flowers but differ in their foliage. On hot still days they are very strongly scented.

Climbing Annuals

I find this group most rewarding and much of my work has been to re-select and maintain superior forms of these for cut flowers. Although the flowers are never larger than an old fashioned Sweet Pea, they are useful for petite and miniature flower arrangements and have a very wide range of useful clean colours. They can be allowed to sprawl but do better of given support. In choosing which to grow, the number of blooms per flower spike, size of the individual flower and length of flower spike, should all be taken into account. They are hardy annuals and easy to grow. A good choice for beginners is:
True Blue L.sativus var. azureus approx. 1m high
White L.sativus var. albus approx. 1m high
Bright Pink L.tingitanus var. roseus approx. 2m high
Royal Purple L.tingitanus approx. 2m high
Red L.annuus Hotham Red approx. 1m high
Yellow L.annuus var. annuus approx. 1m high
Orange L.annuus Mrs. R. Penney approx. 1m high
Red and Yellow L.belinensis approx. 1m high

Meadow Flowers

The increasing popularity of wild flower borders and meadow gardening provides an opportunity for climbing annuals to be naturalised in the garden and also provides an opportunity for many of the other true meadow annuals to be seen at their best, for example cream and yellow forms of the Yellow Vetchling, L.aphaca. There is hardly any Lathyrus which cannot be adapted to this style of gardening but for some, such as the Grass Pea, L.nissolia, and the perennial Meadow Vetchling, L.pratensis, this is their natural environment.

How to grow

As with all plants, a good guide is to understand their natural habitat and try to reproduce it. Annuals are produced from seed and are normally sown in Spring in the UK. Most are quick to germinate and flower so respond to successional sowing to achieve flowering at different times. An Autumn sowing will provide blooms in May. Two species which I normally sow in Autumn because they are slower to germinate and produce flowers are L.chloranthus and L.paranensis.

They required the removal of dead flower heads and watering during dry spells to prolong flowering. Most species do best in full sun but some of the more delicate annuals and the South American climbers seem to benefit from light shade during the mid-day sun.

Perennials may be bought as young plants (L.grandiflorus is only available this way) or grown from seed. The more popular species, such as L.latifolius and L.vernus, germinate quickly but others may take several months. Perennials seem to prefer a well-drained soil, even if they are moisture lovers. They do not like cold wet soils. Garden compost, or some other form of humus, should be added to the soil when planting, unless the soil type makes this unnecessary. Many perennials spread by stolons and can be increased by division in the Spring.

The fun with any gardening is to try something different and see how it works for you. The genus Lathyrus provides a wide range of forms and can be very rewarding.

March 2006

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Wouldn’t it be good to achieve the length of stem and size of bloom of exhibition sweet peas without all the time and effort involved in cordon culture? Several people have asked how I manage to win classes at the National shows using bush grown, or naturally grown, Sweet Peas. Usually my vases are a mixture of bush and cordon grown stems but in 2006 a few were entirely bush grown. The following explains what I do in the hope that it may help others.

Plants are autumn sown; in recent years this has meant the beginning of November on the South coast because of the relatively mild winters, equivalent to USDA hardiness zone 6b. Seeds are sown directly into Rootrainers, one seed per cell, since this avoids the work of pricking out and germination is approaching 100%. I do not pinch out the tops of plants as this will encourage side shoot development when it is root growth that is required at this stage. Pinching out reduces the preciously small leaf area for photosynthesis and changes the balance of plant hormones. Side shoots develop naturally enough in their own good time. I just look over the plants in mid February and pinch out the odd one that has failed to initiate side shoots. I like Rootrainers because the roots grow downwards and avoid spiralling around the bottom as in other containers. They are quick to use when removing plants at planting out in early to mid March. The plants grow away quickly without a check to growth.

In the early stages of growth I want plants to build up as much strength as possible so even my cordons have all side shoots left on until mid May. In the case of cordon plants, the strongest shoot is tied into the support in mid April but the naturally grown plants can send up as many shoots as they want. Since these are primarily grown for seed, I plant in nursery rows about 6m (20 feet) long and plants are supported by plastic netting of 15cm (6 inch) gauge.

My soil is deficient in potash so just prior to planting out I incorporate a good dressing of sulphate of potash plus a little superphosphate to help the roots establish quickly. The latter is perhaps an unnecessary expense with such fertile soil; better safe than sorry! The final ingredient of the pre-planting cocktail is calcified seaweed since lime is used up as the manure breaks down and my pH is naturally around 6.0 to 6.5. The key to success is primarily in the soil. I am growing on Grade 1 agricultural land so I started with a good depth of fertile topsoil. Those without this may still have built up a good soil profile through long cultivation. If not, now is the time to start. Horse manure is cleared from adjacent paddocks and stacked to rot down and I incorporate this into topsoil along the rows during winter cultivation. I don’t find it necessary to cultivate the subsoil. Stable waste is spread between the rows straight from the stables. This means that by the end of the winter, the whole plot is mulched in up to 15cm (6 inches) of relatively fresh stable manure. Some may think a fresh manure mulch is too rich but it consists largely of straw or shavings which use up nitrogen as they rot down so that I have not had any problems. I am convinced it is the mulch over the plot which is of main benefit since the plants need no watering once they are established. It doesn’t matter what the plot is mulched with, old straw was traditional, so much as the depth: a minimum of 10cm (4 inches) is recommended. It is really a case of whatever is available locally that is cheap and plentiful.

Weed control is still required despite the mulch. Coarse weeds seem to thrive as much as the Sweet Peas. Pest and disease control remains important. But the only other work compared with cordons is occasionally weaving plant growth through the netting. Plants grow very strongly in these conditions but coarseness is avoided through allowing all side shoots to develop. I would not encourage keen exhibitors to try this as an alternative to cordon culture since stems are more vulnerable to damage by wind and neighbouring tendrils. Such losses may be compensated by the sheer volume of blooms produced from all those side shoots but you would not want to have to rely on them for a show. The above will I hope provide a guide to those who simply want to have good stem length when cutting blooms for the home or to support their local flower show. It gives me a useful supplement to my cordon-grown Spencer blooms for the bigger shows. It is particularly useful in achieving good quality blooms for vases and bowls of old fashioned and semi-grandiflora varieties where you would not want to bother with cordon culture in any event.

One final comment. Part of my plot is shaded by trees in the middle of the day but gets plenty of sunlight during most daylight hours. I have found in the past two years, when we have had exceptionally hot weather, that these plants have performed best of all. Most of the blooms in my ‘Garden News Class’ entry in 2006 came from these naturally grown plants. It leads me to wonder if I should provide shade netting over the rest of the plot, covering and removing during the middle of each hot sunny day.

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