'Restormel' Sweet Pea Seedlings

Restormel sweet peas

Restormel is a striking large-flowered Spencer variety which will certainly get everyone's attention but... you may think you're looking at different flowers if you do an internet search! It's the fabulous variation of colour that is so eye-catching - and confusing. It is described as red-orange, even cerise, with a hint of deep pink at the bottom of the petals. On top of this, deep scarlet veining covers the flowers and this combination makes them appear to change colour in different light. In bright sunlight, they positively shimmer and in the evening, they glow. Restormel is true to its Spencer origins, with wavy, uniform standards and wings (the upper and lower petals).
It has a pleasant scent - 'red' varieties are not usually known for their fragrance, so ideal for those who don't like to be overpowered with perfume.

Browse our sweet pea range.

Our Sweet Peas are delivered in purpose-designed, recycled cardboard packaging, and are ready to be planted out when you get them.
We generally send them out between March and May, but we will email you with the likely delivery timescale once you have placed your order.

Features 

• Colour: Red-orange with hints of cerise and deep scarlet veining
• Stem: Long
• Height: 2.4m
• Type: Spencer
• Scent: Moderate scent
• Flowering: June-September or later in good weather
• Planting Months: March-June
• Deadhead for continuous flowering
• Ideal for containers
• Suitable for use as a cut flower
• Favourite exhibition variety

In Your Garden Design

As one of the taller sweet pea varieties - Restormel can reach up to 2.4m - make sure you provide your plants with suitable support to climb on. This extra height means it is ideal to cover the side of a sunny shed, wall or garage, as long as you have good access to deadhead the flowers regularly. Also, hiding a variety like Restormel with such unusual colouring would be a waste - the flowers need to be appreciated close-up or the delicate shading and intricacies of the petals will be lost. Unlike many varieties which can run out of steam, Restormel really gets into its stride late in summer and will keep on going as long as the weather is kind! Pair them in a bed with other annuals or perennials that come into their own in late summer, thinks dahlias in either very dark or pale shades: keep well away from the shades in the sweet pea.

Plant Restormel Sweet Peas in well prepared, moist soil that ideally was enriched with organic matter the previous autumn (if you did not do it then, do it now!). Erect supports for the peas to climb up before planting. They can also be planted in pots of sufficient size - allow 6 litres per plant - and with an ideal planting medium of 50% compost, 40 %top soil and 10% well rotted manure. General purpose compost will do however but produces fewer flowers.

The principal requirement is enough water - Sweet Peas are thirsty and hungry plants. They can cope with a little shade but flower better in full sun.

Space each plant about 30 cm apart and about 5 cm from its support. The hole should be deep enough to accommodate the longest root and the soil should come up to the level of the first side shoot. Use wire/netting/twine between the supports so that the Sweet Pea can climb naturally. You will still need to tie them in to the frame. They grow fast, so check every ten days or so.

Water well; the soil around sweet peas should never dry out. As the flowers develop pick them, and then pick again, otherwise they start to form seedpods and will stop flowering altogether. Keep tying in and picking for as long as you can. Perfectionists will remove the curling tendrils which grip other stems and can result in flowers with wiggly stems and also will remove side shoots. see the website for more advice on training sweetpeas.

By all means apply a high potash and phosphate fertiliser during the growing season. (Sweet Peas actually fix nitrogen from the air into the soil so you don't need more of that.) Home-made comfrey liquid is perfect or Tomorite will do especially if you are on a sandy soil.

Did you know?

Bred by the famous 'Pip' Tremewan in 1989, Restormel is loved by the sweet pea enthusiast and is a show bench and exhibition favourite classed as a 'red' by the National Sweet Pea Society (NSPS). It was the favourite 'red' in the 1990s at shows, with its distinctive colouring and wavy, large flowers with long stems.
Members of the NSPS voted Restormel the 15th most popular sweet pea in 1999, and it won the NSPS Clay Cup in 1989 for the best vase in the National Show.