Sweet Pea (Grandiflora) Almost Black | Lathyrus

A modern grandiflora variety with decadent, deepest purple maroon, highly scented flowers. 'Almost Black' is as dark as it gets in a sweet pea and makes a stunning cut-flower companion for brighter, hotter colours as well as an elegant colour wheel clash with white forms such as 'Jilly'. In our (not very scientific) sweet pea trial on the nursery, we found that this variety had very pretty flower colour and was highly scented. There were not too many flowers left in August, and what there was had a stem length of around 15-20cm (6 - 8"). All the sweet peas in our trial produced significantly better plants when the seeds were sown in autumn rather than spring. Growing instructions: From October to late March, sow seeds into pots filled with good-quality seed compost and place them in a cold frame. Pinch out the tips as the plants grow to encourage them to become bushier, and harden off before planting out in a sunny spot from April onwards. Direct sowings can be made in October or March to April. It is important to remove the faded flowers before they set seed, so picking them to fill a vase will only encourage more to form. Sow: January to May or September to October Flowering: June to September