THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 25, 1996 TAG: 9602220113
SECTION: HOME PAGE: G1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ROBERT STIFFLER
LENGTH: Medium: 54 lines
ONE OF THE JOYS of living up North or in England are sweet peas. They're an easy to grow flower and oh-so fragrant. Often you'll find a vase of sweet peas in every room of an English inn.
Lathyrus odoratus, the annual variety of sweet pea, grows in the North Temperate Zone, according to Wyman's Gardening Encyclopedia. It is an old-fashioned garden favorite, not to be confused with the pea of the vegetable garden.
Sweet peas have blue-green foliage and climbing stems that support themselves with tendrils. The annual sweet peas come in many colors, from darkest purples to palest lavenders, darkest reds to palest pinks, white and bi-colored, says the Good Housekeeping Encyclopedia of Gardening. The perennial sweet peas are pink, blue, lavender and white.
Because sweet peas do not grow well in the hot summer, gardeners in this area have often failed in attempts to raise them. There are new varieties, however, that have ``the very best heat tolerance,'' says the 1996 Burpee catalog, which offers a new variety called ``Sweet Dreams.''
Park Seed offers two, ``Giant Heat Resistant Mix'' and ``Royal Family Mix.'' The English company Thompson & Morgan offers the widest choice in sweet peas, but none are listed as suited for hot weather. They list sweet peas as ``poisonous,'' but other references and catalogs do not.
All sweet peas are grown from seed, and fruits are borne in pods, Wyman's says. They should be planted in early spring, as soon as the ground is no longer frozen and wet. Usually the best time to plant in this area is between March 1 and 15.
Sweet peas need a well-drained location in full sun. It's smart to mulch them to keep the roots cool.
They'll bloom until around the first of August, if you keep the flowers cut and do not allow seed formation.
If you have no luck with annual sweet peas, consider the perennial variety. It can be planted now or in the fall and will grow to 6 feet tall. Plant them deep, where their roots will be cool. Some gardeners who've successfully grown them here recommend planting about 12 inches deep. Often someone who is growing them will give you a rooting.
Like the annual variety, perennial sweet peas have blue-green foliage, and blooms that are plentiful and pretty - but without the fragrance.
The beauty of sweet peas makes them worth the risk. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
ROBERT STIFFLER
Sweet peas have blue-green foliage and climbing stems that attach
themselves with tendrils.
by CNB