'Kings High Scent' Sweet Pea Plants

About King's High Scent Sweet Peas

If you grow sweet peas for scent - and really, why else would you? - King's High Scent ought to be near the top of your list. It is a Modern Grandiflora with an exceptionally powerful fragrance, even by sweet pea standards, and holds an RHS Award of Garden Merit.

The flowers are creamy white with a violet picotee edge - a rim of colour tracing each petal that deepens as the bloom matures. They are borne 3-4 to a stem on long, strong stalks that make superb cut flowers. At home, the owners of Ashridge try to have a bunch in their hall. The scent greets visitors and whenever the front door opens, the draft carries it upstairs.

However, all good things come at a price. In the case of King's High Scent the price is a shorter than average flowering. You will have glorious flowers from June to August, but by then the plants are exhausted and the main show is over. Shorter, but sweeter, so plan for it. We grow it in our cutting bed so its early demise is not noticed. In the local allotments, one sensible plot holder grows it in his runner beans. When he stops picking sweet peas, he starts on his beans…

Where Is the Best Spot for King's High Scent?

A warm, sunny position with rich, well-worked soil. Like all sweet peas, King's High Scent flowers more generously in full sun - six hours or more - but will cope with a little dappled shade. It has very long stems, so avoid a windy spot.

Prepare the ground the previous autumn if you can, digging in generous amounts of well-rotted organic matter. If you missed that window, do it on the day. The difference shows quickly: richer soil means more flowers, a stronger scent, and a longer season. For containers, use at least 5 litres of a good compost-based mix per plant and site it where you sit – think planters with wigwams at either end of that Lutyens bench you keep meaning to buy in the autumn sales.

How Do I Get the Best from King's High Scent?

Pick. Every. Day. That is the single most important piece of advice for any sweet pea, but especially this one. King's High Scent already has a shorter flowering window than most varieties, and letting even a few seed pods form stops it in its tracks.

Feed with a high-potash liquid fertiliser every ten days once the first buds appear. Tomato feed works perfectly. Water deeply and consistently - sweet peas are thirsty plants and will sulk visibly if they dry out.

Support structures, training techniques, and the full seasonal calendar are covered in our sweet pea growing guide.

History and Names

King's High Scent was introduced around 2000 by Kings Seeds, the Essex-based seed house, and was bred specifically for fragrance at a time when modern varieties were being selected primarily for flower size and exhibition qualities - often at the expense of scent. It was a deliberate step back towards the perfume that made sweet peas famous, delivered in a flower large and elegant enough for a modern garden.

You will find it sold under three names: King's High Scent, High Scent, and April in Paris. They are the same plant. The RHS lists it as 'High Scent', most retail nurseries use 'King's High Scent', and the occasional catalogue calls it 'April in Paris' for reasons nobody has satisfactorily explained but seem to have nothing to do with April or Paris.

Companions for King's High Scent

The pale cream flowers and violet edge pair well with deeper colours. Matucana (magenta and deep purple) provides dramatic contrast and a longer flowering season. Albutt Blue picks up the violet tones and extends them - the two grown together on the same support are quietly spectacular.

For a softer scheme, try it with Bristol (lilac-lavender Spencer) or Jilly (ivory, beautifully scented) for a clean, pale border where the fragrance does the heavy lifting.

Why Buy Your Sweet Peas from Ashridge?

All our sweet peas are grown from seed on our nursery in Castle Cary, Somerset, and we increasingly use our own saved seed to ensure named varieties come true to type. We use only jumbo plugs, which are deeper and better suited to root development than standard plugs. Every seed is hand-sown at a rate of two per plug, and these are grown on in our polytunnels until the seedlings have fully rooted through. Each one is then pinched out at least once to produce a bushier, multi-stemmed plant that will carry more flowers.

On the day of dispatch, your plants are hand-selected in our polytunnel, packed into purpose-designed recycled cardboard packaging, and sent out the same day by next-day courier. They arrive hardened off and ready to be planted directly into the ground. No greenhouse acclimatisation is needed.

We've been growing and selling plants since 1949, and by mail order since 2003. We hold the Feefo Platinum Service Award and were named a Which? Gardening Best Plant Supplier; both are independent recognitions of the quality and service our customers receive. So, if anything at all is wrong with your seedlings when they arrive, contact us within five working days, and we'll put it right.

Frequently Asked Questions

How scented is King's High Scent compared to other sweet peas?

It is rated 4 out of 5 on the Roger Parsons scale, which places it in the top handful of scented varieties, but in conversation, he admits he dithered between a 4 and a 5. The fragrance is slightly lighter and sweeter than Matucana's rich, heady perfume. If you want to explore the full range of sweet pea scent, grow it with Matucana and Mrs Collier (primrose Grandiflora, Parsons 5) - three powerfully fragrant varieties, each with a distinct character.

Is King's High Scent the same as 'High Scent' and 'April in Paris'?

Yes. All three names refer to the same variety. Whatever the label, the plant is identical.

Why does King's High Scent stop flowering earlier than other sweet peas?

It channels its energy into an intense early display rather than spreading it over a longer period. Most growers find the main show wraps up around mid-August. Dedicated picking and feeding can extend it, but expect a shorter season than varieties like Albutt Blue or Bristol. The trade-off is worth it - few things in the garden match those first weeks of bloom.

What type of sweet pea is King's High Scent?

It is a Modern Grandiflora, so it is classified alongside varieties like Albutt Blue; heritage-level scent and vigour paired with the larger flowers and longer stems of the Spencers.

Can I grow King's High Scent in containers?

Absolutely. Allow about 5 litres of compost per plant; use a rich mix; and water daily once the weather warms up. Container plants will need more frequent feeding than those in the ground. Full container planting advice is in our sweet pea growing guide.

Does King's High Scent hold the RHS Award of Garden Merit?

Yes. It holds the RHS AGM, which recognises reliable garden performance. The RHS also includes it in their recommended list of scented patio plants.

Do King's High Scent sweet peas come back the following year?

No - sweet peas are annuals and last one growing season. You will need to plant fresh each year, from seed or from our jumbo plug seedlings. Once flowering finishes, cut the topgrowth away but leave the roots where they are. Sweet peas are legumes and fix atmospheric nitrogen into the soil - a genuine parting gift to whatever you plant in that spot next year.