About
This fast-growing mangetout variety growing about 0.9-1m high, with white flowers and a long succession of long, stout, crisp, stringless, sweet, fresh green edible pods Peas, Pisum sativum, are nitrogen-fixing annuals, climbing by tendrils up to 2m high, with pinnate leaves of up to eight glaucous, rounded elliptic to oblong leaflets, up to 7cm long, and usually white flowers up to 3cm long, in summer, followed by round, green, edible, protein-rich seeds, in long cyclindrical pods from summer until the first frosts; the pods as well as the seeds of sugarsnap varieties are also edible, as are the flattened pods of mangetout varieties; the young shoots and leaves are also edible.
About the genus
A very small genus of annual, flowering plants from legume family. Native to SW Asia and NE Africa, species P. sativum is widely cultivated for food. Hollow. Climbing or trailing stems bear compound leaves and tendrils. Flowers are butterfly-shaped, 1-3 per stalk. The fruit is a pod
Growing conditions
SunlightFull sun
Soil typeChalk, Clay, Loam, Sand
Soil pHAcid, Alkaline, Neutral
Soil moistureMoist but well-drained
AspectSouth-facing, West-facing, East-facing
ExposureSheltered
UK hardinessH3
Plant details
Plant typeAnnual Biennial
HabitClimbing
FoliageDeciduous
Height0.5-1 metres
Spread0.5-1 metres
Time to full height1-2 years
Suggested usesCity and courtyard gardens, Cottage and informal garden
Care notes
CultivationSow seed from early spring, once the soil is warm, to early summer, in a double row at about 7cm spacings in a flat-bottomed drill 5cm deep and 15cm wide, in full sun in well-drained but humus-rich, moisture-retentive, preferably near-neutral soil, provide support such as twiggy hazel sticks, trellis or netting, and pick pods regularly to ensure a continuous crop; for more advice, see pea cultivation
PruningNo pruning required
PropagationPropagate by seed sown 5cm deep, from early spring to early summer
Pest resistanceMay be susceptible to pea moth, and by aphids, pea and bean weevil, pea thrips, pigeons, slugs, and snails; mice may eat newly-sown seeds
Disease resistanceMay be susceptible to powdery mildews, downy mildews, foot and root rot, Fusarium wilt, grey moulds, pea leaf and pod spot, and virus diseases