Lathyrus odoratus grandiflora Prima Ballerina - Sweet pea

The 'Prima Ballerina' Lathyrus odoratus is a very recent variety of annual sweet peas created by one of the most well-known hybridizers in the world. Each plant produces four different flowers on the same cluster, often tricoloured and tinted with lilac, cream, or purple, with darker veins that give this variety a unique charm. It will cascade in romantic garlands from hanging baskets or cling to any support. Its slightly scented flowers have excellent longevity in bouquets. It should be grown in fertile and moist soil, in full sun.

Lathyrus odoratus is an annual herbaceous plant in the Fabaceae family, native to southeastern Italy and Sicily. Climbing with tendrils, the 'Prima Ballerina' variety can reach a height of 1.80m (6ft) and a width of 30cm (12in) in just a few months. Its leaves are paired on quadrangular stems, equipped with stipules at the base and extended into tendrils. They are light green. Flowering occurs from June to August. The papilionaceous flowers are large and grouped in axillary clusters, displaying a complex colour combination of mauve, pink, cream, and purple, with petals that have more or less coloured veins and are highly undulated. They consist of 5 petals, with the uppermost, also the largest, taking the form of a standard, while the others have an intermediate shape between the lip and the tube. They emit a light fragrance. The fruit is a flat pod that twists and expels its seeds at a distance. It is essential to remove faded flowers, as seed production immediately stops flowering. Sweet peas root deeply in the soil to draw water and nutrients.

Sweet peas are irreplaceable. Their touching and old-fashioned flowering adds a lot of charm to bouquets, hanging baskets, and any support they bravely cover in one season. They are charming in summer borders, using neighbouring plants or bushes as supports. They can also form beautiful carpets by mixing colours. They are inseparable from cottage gardens, like peonies, delphiniums, foxgloves, peach-leaved bellflowers, and columbines. They also thrive in the fertile and watered soil of the vegetable garden, where they provide a good supply of cut flowers.