Lathyrus odoratus

‘Old Spencers’

OLD SPENCER

SWEET PEAS

Lathyrus odoratus ‘Old Spencers’
OLD SPENCER SWEET PEAS

Lathyrus odoratus ‘Old Spencers’ is a mix of all sorts of old fashioned ‘Spencer’ Sweet Pea varieties, including lovely striped varieties as well as solid colours.

Delicious, sweet strong Sweet Pea scent

The old fashioned Spencer Sweet Peas have an intoxicating and irresistible perfume – you just can’t resist burying your nose in them.
So making them enduring favourites amongst all the climbing Sweet Peas, despite all the newly bred competition.
Because of their irresistible scent and lovely rich but gentle colours.

Mix of striped and solid colours – all rich, lovely & “olde-worlde”

Lathyrus odoratus ‘Old Spencers’ is a mix of all different striped and solid colour flowers, but all have the rich but soft, old fashioned tapestry colours to match their old-world perfume.

Heritage Sweet Peas fit for a Princess

In the late 1800’s Silas Cole was a very talented gardener, and employed at Althorp estate by the Spencer family (the ancestral home of Diana Princess of Wales).
It was the responsibility of Mr. Cole to keep up a steady supply of beautiful flowers to decorate the stately home and delight the Earl and Countess of Spencer.

Then in 1900 Cole hit the jackpot. One of his Sweet Pea plants sported wonderfully large, superbly fragrant, wavy petalled blooms of a luscious pink, on extra long stems for picking. He named this new wonder ‘Countess Spencer’.

Mr. Cole exhibited his pride and joy at the National Sweet Pea Society’s show in 1901, and to the delight of the Earl and Countess Spencer – it swept away all competition.
So the Spencer strain of Sweet peas have been bred with devotion ever since at Althorp by successive generations of Earl Spencers and their Head Gardeners.
Over the many years they have continued to generate many new Spencer Sweet Peas, but all with an emphasis on delicious perfume, beautiful colouring, and intoxicating scent.

Wonderful cut flowers for perfume & colour 

So ‘Old Spencers’ provide lovely blooms for a vase, and a small bunch can scent the whole room.

Hardy low climber

Lathyrus odoratus ‘Old Spencers’ make perfect climbers for any garden , even in a small space.
So plant in Full Sun to Partial Shade, on a trellis, fence, or climbing through a supporting shrub.
‘Old Spencers’ have stood the test of time, and they are easy growers compared to some of the more modern, highly bred varieties.
Sweet Peas enjoy soil with plenty of organic matter and feed, and really appreciate mulch in the summer. This helps to keep them blooming for even longer.

Self twining & perfect in a pot

Sweet Peas are self-twining, attaching themselves to the support or host, scrambling up to about 1.5 – 1.8m. high all by themselves. They do not smother the host.
And are also perfect for growing in a container on a tripod.

Old Spencers are “Cut & Come Again” flowers

So the more flowers you cut, the more they produce, for even longer.

Quickly raised from seed & easily grown

Lathyrus odoratus ‘Old Spencers’ are easily raised from seed and grown on to flowering size quickly.
It is also easy to gather pea pods of seeds for next year, or you can just let them drop so they sow their own crop for next year. The seeds are quick and easy germinators.

Annual climber 1.5 – 1.8m. High approx. x 30cm. Wide. Self twining.

SEED SOWING ADVICE: QUICK & EASY
Suitable for beginners & gardening with kids

Can be sown outdoors direct in the garden in autumn, winter or early spring / or sown indoors in a punnet at any time.

Indoors & outdoors: First soak the pea seeds in warm (not boiling) water and allow to cool overnight.
Then Pea seeds that are ready to sow will have sunk to the bottom by morning. While any that are not yet ready will be floating.
Should you have any floating seeds – then roughen the hard coat by gently rubbing the dried seeds between 2 sheets of fine sandpaper, or rubbing between your hands with some grit or sand. Then re-soak overnight again.

Then plant pea seeds 2.5cm. deep. individually in little pots. Deeper pots or tubes are best, as the peas soon develop a long tap root.

Temperatures of 18-20C. are best for rapid and optimum germination.

Seeds germinate in approx. 14 days. at optimum temperature.

Seed Count: 50 seeds per pack approx.
We always aim to exceed the stated seed count and give a generous serve).

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