King Edward VII Sweet Pea

There aren't that many true red sweet peas - lots of pinks and variations thereof - but a good, deep red sweet pea is a minority sport making King Edward VII that much more special. It also plays well for those who do not like the more wishy-washy sweet pea colours. It is a true Henry Eckford offspring with small, numerous and highly scented flowers of that old-fashioned calibre that is hard to better, and they become ever more prolific the more you pick them. The flowers are borne on shortish stems but will cover the whole stem from top to toe - very good for keeping you flexible. Browse all of our sweet peas.

A King not just for Cutting

The heritage varieties of sweet pea give and give with King Edward VII as no exception and so anyone who wants a bunch of sweet peas on a daily basis just for the smell alone should invest in him. The red colour is a bonus and is fun to dot in amongst other red sweet peas like the flake America or to be all patriotic with white Cathy and navy Lord Nelson. But do not just relegate King Edward VII to the cutting garden. It grows strongly but not too tall and so it will perform magnificently in a pot somewhere sunny or draped over a small obelisk or some such in the middle of a border.

Features of King Edward VII Sweet Peas

Colour: mid-red but uniform
Stem: short but strong
Height: 1.5 m
Type: Old Fashioned Heritage
Scent: astonishing
Flowering: May to August
Planting Months: March-April
Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit

Longevity

Henry Eckford introduced this sweet pea back in 1903. He started work on breeding ever more improved Grandiflora sweet peas in the 1880s from the village of Wem in Shropshire. Each year in July they still hold a sweet pea festival in his honour - now that is definitely worth a detour!

King Edward VII Sweet Peas do best in good, 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 30 cm apart and about 5 cm from their supports. 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.

Read our full terms and conditions here.

Delivery: Our standard delivery charges are:

Small box (orders containing only seedlings or rooted cuttings) = £7.20 (inc VAT) per order.
Standard box (bareroot plants up to 1.2metres) = £11.40 (inc VAT) per order.
Large box (pots up to and including 7.5 litres) = £15.00 (inc VAT) per order.
Trees & hedging (bareroot plants and trees over 1.2 metres in height) = £19.80 (inc VAT) per order.
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.

*Surcharges to the Highlands and Islands still apply.

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.
We will email you the day before your plants are due to arrive.

Payment: We do not charge your card until we begin to prepare your order for packing.

Guarantee: If any plants die within a year, we will replace them. We only ask that you follow our planting & growing instructions and sent us clear photographs of the dead plants in situ, so we can help to make sure that the replacement plants succeed. You only pay for the delivery of the replacements.

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

	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£5.88	Sold out for the season£5.50
	Prices include VAT(where applicable)

King Edward VII Sweet Pea Seedlings

Lathyrus odoratus King Edward VII

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