America Sweet Peas

Just like apple pie, America sweet pea is a patriotic floral outpost with wonderful red stripes on a white background. The stripes are known as flakes where a darker shade is striped or 'flaked' over a paler shade. America's flakes are more like a subtle splattering of cherry red rather than the prison pyjama stripes you might be imagining. It is heavily perfumed and even boasts a notably erect flag petal. America is firmly in the old-fashioned camp being an heirloom variety where you will see lots and lots of gorgeous 3 cm flowers that just keep on coming so long as you keep picking them. Gradually the stems become shorter with age, but the flowers retain their beauty and intense fragrance to the end.

Browse our full list of sweet peas.

Features

Colour: red and white
Stem: medium
Height: 1.8 m
Type: Heritage Grandiflora
Scent: Good
Flowering: May to October
Planting Months: March-June
RHS Award of Garden Merit

Growing

America would look fantastic in pots underplanted with red geraniums on a terrace. Support it in a border with Salvia 'Hot Lips' which has a similar bi-coloured flower, and if you really wanted to get all American you could intersperse some lovely blue cornflowers or grow another American sweet pea, the pale blue Flora Norton. That way you have a ready-made posy when you need something for the kitchen table. We also like the idea of growing America with the pure red Edward V11. When using sweet peas as cutting flowers try to pick them early in the morning and leave them in a bucket of cold water before arranging them.

Did You Know?

America was given its RHS AGM in 1995 almost a hundred years after it was first introduced onto the market by Vaughan, having been raised in California by Mr Morse.

Sweet Peas do best in well worked, moisture retentive soil. Adding organic matter really makes a difference and is best done the autumn before. But on the day is very much better than not at all. Your plants will do best in open ground, but you can get good results planting Sweet Peas in window boxes and pots of sufficient size - allow at least 3 litres per plant and remember that these are quite deep-rooted plants. In containers, the ideal planting mix is 50% compost, 40% topsoil and 10% well-rotted manure. Ordinary potting compost is OK, but you will get fewer flowers.

A range of supports can be used from twiggy branches to willow wigwams to posts with netting stretched between. Whatever you use, do the construction work before planting. Think about the position - Sweet Peas can cope with a little shade but flower better in full sun.

Space plants about 10-15 cm apart and about 5 cm from their support. The hole should be deep enough to plant the full length of the rootball and allow enough so the soil finishes level with the lowest pair of leaves. Check to make sure they are climbing well every week or so, as they grow quickly. Tie into their supports if not.

Sweet Peas biggest need is for water - they are incredibly thirsty plants. So water well after planting and make sure they never completely dry out. They are greedy too so you will lengthen their flowering period if you give them a high potash and phosphate fertiliser every 7-10 days once buds begin to form. Home-made comfrey liquid is perfect or Tomorite will do - especially if you are on a sandy soil.

Cut the flowers as they develop pick them, otherwise, they run to seed and stop flowering.

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Delivery: Our standard delivery charges are:

Small box (orders containing only seedlings or rooted cuttings) = £7.20 (inc VAT) per order. Free delivery for orders over £60 (inc VAT)
Standard box (bareroot plants up to 1.2metres) = £11.40 (inc VAT) per order. Free delivery for orders over £60 (inc VAT)
Large box (pots up to and including 7.5 litres) = £15.00 (inc VAT) per order. Free delivery for orders over £100 (inc VAT)
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Orders delivered to Scotland and the Isle of Wight may incur a surcharge (calculated during checkout). This is applicable to ALL orders to these locations.
Pallets (for all orders of root balls, and large orders, a pallet price will be automatically applied at checkout) = £75.00 (inc VAT) per order.
If, for reasons of seasonality an order needs to be split, then we will charge for each delivery. If the whole order was eligible for free P&P then the second of the split orders will be delivered free of charge.

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Because couriers sometimes experience delays, we schedule delivery by week, not by day. Therefore, please plan your planting day for the weekend at the end of the delivery week or for the week following delivery, at the earliest.
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Please note that our guarantee is void if there is a hosepipe ban in your area: your newly planted hedging must be watered in dry weather while it is establishing. The best way to water is very thoroughly every few days: at least once a week in summer if there is no heavy rain.

Our nursery has been supplying container grown and bareroot hedging plants to gardeners, farmers and town planners since 1949. Our website started in 2003, so we do understand the concerns that you may have about buying hedging plants online. If any of your plants are damaged when they arrive or if you are otherwise not satisfied with your order after you inspect it, please repackage it and contact us. We will give you a refund or send replacements and send a courier to come and collect the unwanted plants.

General Info	RHS AGM
Shade	Full Sun
Area	Coastal Areas, Frost Pockets, Scotland & The North
Soil	Good, Well Drained
Colour	Red/Crimson
Type	Rootrained, Seedling
Ornamental	Fragrant, Repeat Flowering
Flowering	May, Jun, Jul, Aug

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SIZES	1	2-4	5+
Pack of 4	Pre-order from February £7.25	Pre-order from February£5.88	Pre-order from February£5.50
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America Sweet Pea Seedling Plants

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