Is Lathyrus odoratus a perennial or annual?
Lathyrus odoratus, commonly called sweet pea, is a bushy or climbing annual that features highly fragrant flowers (odoratus meaning fragrant) on winged stems clad with medium to dark green leaflets in pairs. If you keep cutting them little and often, watering well, and deadheading old blooms, sweet peas can flower all the way through the summer and as late as October. In warmer parts of the USA they may well peak later in the season, September-October.Sowing Sweet Peas in September Plant them in September to enjoy their blooms by spring. Soak your sweet pea seeds overnight or chip them to encourage germination. Sow your sweet peas in pots indoors or in your greenhouse. Add free-draining compost to encourage healthy growth.Sweet peas are an annual flower, meaning they only live for one growing season. They are hardy, fragrant and can tolerate cooler temperatures and light frosts.Sweet peas (Lathyrus odoratus) only live for a year, dying after setting seed. But don’t let this put you off as they are super easy to grow from seed. Perennial species such as Lathyrus latifolius come back year after year, but mostly lack fragrance and there are fewer to choose from.
How do you care for Lathyrus Odoratus?
After planting out, water the plants thoroughly to settle them in and again during dry spells. Feeding regularly throughout summer with a high potash liquid feed will help promote continuous flowering. Cut flowers frequently as they become ready, and certainly before the flowers fade and they produce seed pods. Get a jump start on your annual beds by planting seeds in fall. You will not only save money on plants, but fall-seeded plants bloom sooner than spring-seeded plants.
What is the common name for Lathyrus Odoratus?
The sweet pea, Lathyrus odoratus, is a flowering plant in the genus Lathyrus in the family Fabaceae (legumes), native to Sicily, southern Italy and the Aegean Islands. Proper timing and technique is key to sowing sweet pea seeds. Here’s how to do it: The recommended sowing time is early October to mid November. Use deep pots like root trainers, about 12-15cm, so the roots can grow long and deep.In fact frequently these light coloured flower seeds need neither chipping nor soaking, but unless you know the colour of the sweet pea you are sowing it is better to give them a short soak for a few hours which will do no harm as long as they are patted dry afterwards on tissue paper or kitchen roll.Start feeding sweet peas with a high potash fertiliser (such as tomato food) when flower buds appear. Regular picking encourages more flowers to form, so keep picking those blooms for the vase.The name sweet peas is especially problematic as true sweet peas (Lathyrus odoratus) are a toxic ornamental flower and are not edible. Sugar snap (Pisum sativum var. When growing snap peas, they are meant to be harvested and eaten with both pods and peas.
Is Lathyrus odoratus fragrant?
Lathyrus odoratus, commonly called sweet pea, is a bushy or climbing annual that features highly fragrant flowers (odoratus meaning fragrant) on winged stems clad with medium to dark green leaflets in pairs. Sweet pea seeds are vulnerable to rotting so do not water again until the young shoots break through the soil (unless you have especially hot and dry weather). Germination usually takes 7-15 days.Sweet peas (Lathyrus odoratus) only live for a year, dying after setting seed. But don’t let this put you off as they are super easy to grow from seed. Perennial species such as Lathyrus latifolius come back year after year, but mostly lack fragrance and there are fewer to choose from.