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High Scent
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KaleidoscopeOften people are disappointed when they buy a packet of mixed Sweet Peas because the colour range is very limited. Kaleidoscope contains bicolours, reverse bicolours, flakes, stripes and self-colours in a wide range of shades and combinations. Approximately 25 seeds per packet. | $5.00
Lathyrus latifolius 'White Pearl'Lathyrus latifolius, commonly known as the 'Everlasting Sweet Pea', is a perennial sister species of the sweet pea. It has many more flowers per stem than the sweet pea, but sadly they lack scent. Occurs in various shades of pink as well as this stunning white form, which has good vase-life as a cut flower. Approximately 25 seeds per packet. |
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Lathyrus tingitanusTangier Pea This is an unscented annual relative of the Sweet Pea from the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa. It is notable for a very large standard petal relative to the small wing petals. This form is a rich purpleish cerise colour that came to me via the Howick Village in Auckland. Limited stock. 10 seed per packet. | ![]() $5.00
Lipstick'Lipstick' Large, wavy, rich crimson flowers on long stems. Suitable for cut flowers and exhibition. Approximately 25 seeds per packet. | $5.00
Little Red Riding Hood'Little Red Riding Hood' is a very striking bicoloured sweet pea with a red standard petal and white wings. It has the greatest colour contrast between the standard and the wings of any sweet pea. Great garden performer and attracts attention from a distance. Approximately 25 seeds per packet. |
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Maloy'Maloy' was the first reverse bicolour sweet pea on the red side of the colour spectrum. Standard apricot pink and wings a strong orange pink. Great in a floral arrangement. Approximately 25 seeds per packet. | $5.00
Moody Blues'Moody Blues' is a combination of three cultivars 'North Shore' bicolour (navy standard with violet wings), 'Cocktail' bicolour (maroon standard with violet wings) and 'Big Blue' (a mid-blue self). These all have large wavy flowers borne on long strong stems. Approximately 25 seeds per packet. | $5.00
More Scent
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My Navy'My Navy' has large dark blue wavy flowers. This is a colour not often seen in sweet peas. Approximately 25 seeds per packet. | $5.00
Nimbus'Nimbus' is an English-bred sweet pea. It is the most dramatic example of a striped sweet pea. In this type the markings occur only on the back of the standard petal and the top of the wings. Unusual and never fails to impress. Approximately 25 seeds per packet. | $5.00
North Shore'North Shore' is a bicoloured sweet pea with a navy standard petal and violet wings. 'North Shore' is named to recognise the help afforded me by Jack Bridger in my early breeding here in New Zealand. Jack lived on the North Shore in Auckland. Approximately 25 seeds per packet. |
Although the original, wild Sweet Pea, Lathyrus odoratus, from which all Sweet Peas have been derived was summer flowering, strains have been developed that are able to flower at different times of the year. This is controlled by the length of daylight hours, which varies both by season and geographic location. As a rule of thumb, Summer Flowering strains require 12 hours daylight to initiate flowering, Spring Flowering strains require 11 hours, while Winter Flowering strains require only 10 hours.
Spring Flowering types are best sown in the autumn while Summer Flowering types are best sown from mid winter in areas with mild winters like those experienced in Northern New Zealand. Spring and Summer types produce more sturdy plants, which produce strong basal shoots that soon take over from the primary shoot. Notwithstanding both the Winter and Spring strains perform very well if sown at the same time as the Summer types.
Scent is a difficult characteristic to breed. Expression of scent is very much dependant on temperature and humidity, while different people have differing ability to detect scent. Notwithstanding, Keith's work in combining the colours of the ancestral cultivars with bigger flowers and longer stems has also resulted in strongly perfumed cultivars. His 'High Scent' is recognised as the world benchmark for scent. This has smaller flowers with a clamped keel, but new introduction 'High Society' combines a waved, crisp white ground picotee edged pink flower with strong scent.
Very frequently, home gardeners are advised to soak seed overnight before sowing. This is unnecessary and potentially harmful for any hand harvested seed obtained from this website. Because of harvesting methods, seed from field production can on occasion result in hard seed coats, which delays or prevents germination. This is why the idea that seed needs to be soaked to identify hard seed has arisen.
