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. If you want sweet peas to exhibit or to have more than one flower per stem you would need to look for a Spencer variety from our range like Raspberry Flake or take a look at our full list of sweet peas.

Hoist the Flag

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.

Features of America Sweet Peas

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

Born in America

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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Small box (Orders containing only seedlings or rooted cuttings) £7.20 including VAT per order (FREE For ORDERS Over £60 inc VAT)
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Misc	RHS AGM
Shade	Full Sun
Area	Coastal Areas, Frost Pockets, Scotland & The North
Soil	Good, Well Drained
Colour	Red/Crimson
Type	Rootrained, Seedling
Also Good	Fragrant, Repeat Flowering
Flowering	May, Jun, Jul, Aug

	Buy 2 or more seedling packs and save

SIZES	1	2-4	5+
Pack of 4	Sold out for the season £7.25	Sold out for the season£5.50	Sold out for the season£5.32
	Prices include VAT

America Sweet Pea Seedling Plants

Lathyrus odoratus America

America Sweet Peas

Hoist the Flag

Features of America Sweet Peas

Born in America

Bareroot planting is best done between October and April
Bareroot and potted - what's the difference?

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LATEST VIDEO

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America Sweet Pea Seedling Plants

Lathyrus odoratus America

America Sweet Peas

Hoist the Flag

Features of America Sweet Peas

Born in America

Bareroot planting is best done between October and April Bareroot and potted - what's the difference?

Why I love hazelnuts. Or should that be cobnuts?

LATEST VIDEO

Sign up!

Bareroot planting is best done between October and April
Bareroot and potted - what's the difference?