Sweet Pea 'Spencer Mix' is a large-flowered sweet pea in mixed colours, grown for garden supports and the cutting bed.
The range covers both dwarf mounding types, around 20 to 30 cm tall with no support needed, and climbing types that reach 90 to 120 cm for the compact climbers and 150 to 240 cm for the vigorous ones, scrambling up a trellis, arch, obelisk or fence. Whichever type a mix belongs to, the flowers are ruffled, in a mix of soft pastels, rich pinks, reds and lilacs, and strongly scented in the traditional way. Bees visit them.
Sweet peas want full sun or light partial shade and moist, fertile, well-drained soil, with regular water and feeding through the season. Flowering runs from late spring through summer, and picking is what keeps it going: cut the flowers often for the house and never let the pods set, or flowering stops within a fortnight. They are annuals, so they finish at the end of the season and are grown fresh each year. Pods and seeds are not edible.
Supplied as a set of three or six established, garden-ready plants in 10.5cm rootballs, grown in peat-free compost.
Cultural Information
Common Name: Sweet pea
Fully Grown Height and Spread: Dwarf forms 20–30 cm; compact climbers 90–120 cm; tall climbers 150–240 cm, depending on type
Growth Habit: Dwarf mounding or climbing annual, depending on type
Perfect For: Containers, window boxes, borders, trellis, arches, obelisks, fences, cutting gardens
Foliage: Mid-green, annual
Flowering Time: Late spring to summer
Planting Position: Full sun or light partial shade; suits patio containers and window boxes
Soil Type: Moist, fertile, well-drained
Hardiness: Frost-tender annual; plant out once the frosts have passed
Maintenance: Low; water and feed regularly, pick often
Seasonal Interest: Spring and summer flowers
Type: Annual
