Raspberry Flake Sweet Pea

Floral thrill seekers will look for more unusual varieties and Raspberry Flake satisfies that criterion. It is a Spencer sweet pea and so has those long straight stems with generous numbers of flowers per stem. Each flower is much larger than the old-fashioned type of sweet pea and Raspberry Flake has a gentle ripple to its petals rather than a fussy frill. The petals are however what grabs your attention because suffusing the overall white colour on both sides are random flushes or streaks of red that become more concentrated towards the centre of the flower. There is no picotee edge but the flake effect is distinctive and attractive. Raspberry Flake also possesses a good sweet pea fragrance and is a reliable performer with a reputation for being a prolific flowerer - as is pretty much the whole of our range of hand sown sweetpeas.

Raspberry Flake in a Cone

Try inverting a cone of supports into a large pot and grow this sweet pea up it for your summer terrace showstopper. Not only will you have a source of wonderful flowers for a bedside table but the Raspberry Flake flowers are so fascinating that you really might not have to bother with anything else floral on your terrace at all. Raspberry Flake is an original addition to the cutting garden and works well with Albutt Blue with its navy picotee or White Supreme. If your tastes lie with the more traditional sweet peas, then America is another red and white flake that might appeal to you.

Features

Colour: red and white flake, deeper flushes centrally
Stem: long, straight
Height: 2 m
Type: Spencer
Scent: highly fragrant
Flowering:
Planting Months: March-April

Flowers for Flappers

William Unwin, and then his son Charles, were interested in creating varieties that veered away from plain colours to more unusual patterns - rather like tulip breaking virus produced streaks on tulips. They bred flaked and striped varieties which became the height of fashion between the world wars. We are seeing a huge revival of interest in these styles of sweet pea now.

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: The basic delivery charge for orders of bareroot plants is £6.50 + vat, which increases to £12.55 + vat if you add any pot-grown plants, standard trees or fruit trees to the order.
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.

*Surcharges to the Highlands and Islands still apply.

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 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.

Area	Coastal Areas, Frost Pockets, Scotland & The North
Colour	Pink - Dark
Type	Rootrained, Seedling
Also Good	Fragrant
Flowering	May, Jun, Jul, Aug

	NUMBER OF PACKS
SIZES	1	2-5	6+
Pack of 4	Plenty of Stock£4.70	Plenty of Stock£3.86	Plenty of Stock£3.60

Raspberry Flake Sweet Pea Seedlings

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Raspberry Flake Sweet Pea

Raspberry Flake in a Cone

Features

Flowers for Flappers