Almost Black Sweet Pea Seedlings

Almost Black Sweet Peas

Sweet Pea Almost Black (Lathyrus odorata) is one of the darkest varieties available and makes an amazing addition to summer borders or large pots.

Like most sweet peas, it is not one colour, but a fabulous blend of dark maroon shading to near-black, with the base of the petals lightly splashed with purple. The blooms really change colour depending on which light they're viewed in but the velvety texture remains, enhancing the intensity of the dark hues.

Almost Black is a Modern Grandiflora, which means it has the best of all sweet pea types - larger flowers than the old heritage varieties, produced in profusion, with the long stems of the Spencer blooms and the scent of ancestral varieties such as Matucana. Its fragrance is truly stunning, very sweet and strong, so make sure to plant them where they can be appreciated. Although the flower size is not as big as some Modern Grandifloras (the petals are unwaved, more like a slightly larger antique variety), this seems to add to the blooms' overall appeal, as the colour intensity isn't diluted.

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: Dark maroon/almost black
• Stem: Long
• Height: 2m
• Type: Modern Grandiflora
• Scent: Strong, sweet, heady
• Flowering: June-September
• Planting Months: March-June
• Suitable for use as a cut flower
• Ideal as a contrast with lighter sweet pea varieties

In Your Garden Design

Such an unusual sweet pea deserves to be shown off to its best, so grow it with other contrasting pale varieties to enhance its depth of colour. White and cream sweet peas such as Cathy, Mrs Collier and White Supreme, available in our sweet pea collection are perfect to grow together up an obelisk, wigwam or canes near the front of the border, so you can appreciate the contrast and amazing scents. Likewise, if you're growing Almost Black as a cut flower, mix them with lighter varieties or with a light vase to get the best effect.

Don't plant them on their own at the back of a border with other dark colours or greens, where the subtlety of the blooms will be lost.

Did You Know?

Bred by New Zealand's legendary sweet pea breeder Keith Hammett.

Adding a drop of sugar water to the water of a vase of freshly cut sweet peas prolongs their life.

All members of the legume family, of which sweet peas are one, have the ability to 'fix' nitrogen from the air in the soil so other plants can access it. At the end of the season, cut off the plants at ground level but leave the roots in the soil. Nodules on the roots contain nitrogen compounds (ammonia and nitrates), which will enrich your soil for other plants.

Sweet Peas do best in full sun.
Well worked, moisture retentive soil in open ground is ideal, with organic matter dug in ideally the autumn before, but on the day is better than nothing!

Window boxes and pots need to be of sufficient size - at least 3 litres per plant, as deep as possible. In containers, a good planting mix is 50% compost, 40% topsoil and 10% well-rotted manure to boost flowering. 
Potted sweet peas need extra watering, and a high-potash plant food (such as tomato fertiliser) throughout the season. 

They are vigorous climbers, using tendrils to cling on to their supports, which you can make from wigwams of branches, nets, or wire before planting. They do need some tying to their supports at first, twine or clips are good for this. Tall plants may need tying in to stop the wind blowing them down off supports.
When growing sweet peas as cut flowers, ensure that their long stems stay straight and snip off tendrils that grow around blooms. 

Planting:

Space plants about 10-15cm apart, 5cm from their support. 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. .

Aftercare:

Sweet Peas are thirsty plants. Water well after planting and never let them dry out. You can lengthen their flowering period with a high potash and phosphate fertiliser every 7-10 days once buds begin to form, especially if you are on a sandy soil; home-made comfrey liquid over a nice mulch will also do. 

Cut the flowers as they develop pick them, otherwise they run to seed and stop flowering.