Lord Nelson Sweet Pea

It is hard to describe Lord Nelson's colour - a cross between Elizabeth Taylor's eyes and a tropical sea on a cloudy day - suffice to say they are a deep violet, navy colour of real depth and beauty. The petals are slightly veined which gives the small but plentiful flowers a look of fragility which entirely belies this extraordinarily tough seadog. The flowers cover the sturdy stems and are so highly scented that they will fill your garden with perfume, and then your house if they are planted nearby. Browse our list of sweet peas.

Safe Harbour

The colour of this sweet pea should not be confined to below decks in the vegetable garden but should be there like a great wave of colour in your borders trailed over a tepee or some such. Lord Nelson flowers so prolifically and its exotic blue works well with pale blues, lavenders and pastels to bright golds, reds or silvers. Try harbouring Lord Nelson next to a shrub rose like Graham Thomas or intertwined with his honeysuckle for an out of this world scent sensation. Other old-fashioned sweet peas include the lovely Flora Norton, King Edward V11 or Mrs Collier as suitable first mates or another port of call could be to grow some of the more modern Spencer varieties as a contrast.

Features of Lord Nelson Sweet Peas

Colour: navy/violet-purple
Stem: short
Height: 2m
Type: Heirloom Grandiflora
Scent: highly scented
Flowering: May to August
Planting Months: March-April

A navy beyond all others

Lord Nelson was the Admiral who both won and was killed at Trafalgar in 1805, now immortalised annually in this sweet pea. It was introduced in 1907 by Henry Eckford's sweet pea breeding programme at Isaac House in Wiltshire, and remains an extraordinarily popular.

Lord Nelson 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 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 including VAT per order (FREE For ORDERS Over £60 inc VAT)
Standard box (Bareroots up to 1.2m) £11.40 including VAT per order (FREE For ORDERS Over £60 inc VAT)
Large box (Pots up to and incl. 7.5L) £15.00 including VAT per order (FREE For ORDERS Over £100 inc VAT)
Trees & Hedging (Bareroots & trees 1.2m+) £18.00 including VAT per order (FREE For ORDERS Over £120 inc VAT)
Pallets (Root balls, large pots, trees etc) £60.00 including VAT per order (FREE For ORDERS Over £240 inc VAT)

*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.

Shade	Full Sun
Area	Coastal Areas, Frost Pockets, Scotland & The North
Soil	Good, Well Drained
Colour	Blue (Deep)
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	Available to order from early July - do come back then £7.25	Available to order from early July - do come back then£5.50	Available to order from early July - do come back then£5.32
	Prices include VAT

Lord Nelson Sweet Pea Seedlings

Lathyrus odoratus Lord Nelson

Lord Nelson Sweet Pea

Safe Harbour

Features of Lord Nelson Sweet Peas

A navy beyond all others

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!

Lord Nelson Sweet Pea Seedlings

Lathyrus odoratus Lord Nelson

Lord Nelson Sweet Pea

Safe Harbour

Features of Lord Nelson Sweet Peas

A navy beyond all others

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?