Black Knight Sweet Pea Plants

• Variety: Black Knight
• Type: Grandiflora
• Colour: Deep maroon, almost black in shade
• Scent: Strong. An honest, old-fashioned sweet pea perfume
• Flowers: Small, neat Grandiflora blooms, 3–4 per stem. Intensely pigmented
• Stems: Shorter than Spencers but plentiful enough to pick in quantity
• Height: 1.5–1.8m (5ft+) with support
• Flowering: June to August with regular picking
• RHS AGM: No
• Show class: Old-Fashioned (NSPS)
• Bred by: Henry Eckford, 1898
• Sold as: Jumbo plug plants, hand-sown by us
• Plant outdoors: After last frost
• Delivered: March to May by next-day courier. Collection from Castle Cary also available

Black Knight: Eckford's Victorian Masterpiece

Black Knight is one of the oldest sweet peas still in commercial production and one of the most heavily scented (it was also my father's favourite - Ed). Henry Eckford bred it in 1898 at his nursery in Wem, Shropshire, and the flowers are so deeply pigmented that the Victorians classified them as black. Hold a stem against the light and you will see warm plum and crimson tones glowing but out of direct light they look... almost black. Pick a bunch and the scent hits you before you get to the kitchen – a rich, old-fashioned sweet pea perfume with a honeyed depth that modern Spencers just don't produce.

This is a Grandiflora sweet pea so (despite the name) the flowers are smaller than anything in the Spencer range. That is the trade-off, and it is one worth understanding. What you lose in individual flower size you gain in abundance, scent, and character. Black Knight looks as though it was picked from a Victorian cottage garden a century ago, because it could have been. The stems are shorter than modern exhibition types, but there are plenty of them, and the compact blooms sit beautifully in a jar without needing a florist. A narrow-necked vase of Black Knight and nothing else is one of the simplest, most striking and most fragrant sweet pea displays you will ever see.

Why Buy Your Sweet Peas from Ashridge?

Well, we are very good at growing them. The seed, which we collect ourselves, is hand-sown at two seeds per plug. After germination, the weaker seedling is removed. Every plant is then pinched out to encourage bushy growth and hardened off before dispatch. What you are buying are sturdy, garden-ready jumbo plug plants that have had the best possible start.

We send your sweet peas out by next-day courier between March and May, packed in purpose-designed recycled cardboard packaging. The moment they arrive, they are ready to go into the ground or a container. If anything is not right, we have real people on the phone in Somerset who will sort it out. We hold a Feefo Platinum Service Award and are a Which? Best Buy plant supplier. Both came from customer recommendation.

Dark Flowers Need Light Neighbours

Position matters with a flower this dark. Against a backdrop of green foliage or a dark fence, Black Knight vanishes. Give it a pale background of old stone, whitewashed timber or just a silver-leaved Artemisia at the base, and the colour reads properly. The same principle applies in mixed plantings by the way. Dark sweet peas need lighter companions or they lose their impact.

In a vase, Black Knight benefits from contrast too. Three stems of Black Knight in a jam jar look moody and elegant. Three stems of Black Knight in a random mixed bunch look like gaps where someone forgot to put flowers. Three stems mixed with cream, pale blue, or soft pink (anything that frames the dark colour rather than absorbing it) and the maroon comes alive.

Pairing Ideas

Flora Norton (sky-blue Grandiflora) is the classic pairing – two Edwardian-era varieties with tremendous combined scent and perfectly complementary colours. Mrs Collier (primrose-cream Grandiflora, intensely fragrant) provides a warmer contrast that is especially beautiful in low evening light. For something more contemporary, Turquoise Lagoon (blue-green hammettii hybrid) sits against maroon in a way that nothing else in the garden quite manages.

On an obelisk or against a wall, Black Knight threads well through a clematis. Try it with Nelly Moser (pink-striped) or maybe The President (rich purple). You get two layers of flower from the same support, and the clematis will have a second flush after the sweet peas are finished.

Full planting, support, and care instructions are in our sweet pea growing guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Black Knight actually black?

No sweet pea produces a true black flower; the closest you ever get is a very dark maroon and along with Almost Black, Black Knight is one of the darkest maroon sweet peas you can buy.

How does Black Knight compare to Heathcliff and Almost Black?

Three dark sweet peas, three different characters. Black Knight is the heritage Grandiflora – smaller flowers, shorter stems, the strongest scent of the three, and the character of a Victorian garden. Heathcliff is a Modern Grandiflora with bigger, more ruffled flowers and good scent for a dark variety. Almost Black is the darkest of the three, closest to true black. Grow all three together and you get history, drama, and depth in a single planting.

How strong is the scent?

Powerful (rated 4/5 on the Parsons scale) which in our opinion is an understatement as Black Knight is one of the most fragrant sweet peas we know. Just put a single stem in a small room and smell what happens!

Can I save seed from Black Knight?

Black Knight is a heritage Grandiflora dating to 1898, so it comes true from saved seed. Wait until the plant has finished flowering, let a few pods dry on the vine, then collect and store somewhere cool and dark. Sow the following spring. Do not let pods form while the plant is still in full flower, or it will stop producing blooms.

Does Black Knight come back each year?

Black Knight has been in cultivation since 1898 not because individual plants survive, they don't, but because gardeners replant it every spring. It is truly one of the great sweet peas. For ready-grown plants, browse our full sweet pea collection.