Lathyrus odoratus Winter Sunshine Opal Seeds - Sweet pea

Winter Sunshine 'Opal' Sweet Pea, with its Latin name Lathyrus odoratus, belongs to a series of very early cultivars, flowering as early as March in our latitudes (tested in England and the Netherlands), when the daylight hours are still relatively short. The buds are resistant to the cold that is still present at this time. The flowers of 'Opal' are a uniform pale pink iridescent colour. They are fragrant, large, and dense on long stems. They are also heat-resistant (also tested in California). With rapid growth, the stems of this vigorous and floriferous climbing annual develop tendrils that cling to the support you provide.

Lathyrus odoratus is an annual herbaceous plant in the Fabaceae family, native to southeastern Italy and Sicily. The Winter Sunshine Opal variety stands out for its high-performance early flowering on the market. It can reach 2m in height and 40cm in width in just a few months. Its leaves are paired on quadrangular stems, with stipules at the base and extending into tendrils. They are light green in colour. Flowering occurs in March and April. The papilionaceous flowers are large, clustered in axillary clusters, with a soft, iridescent pink colour and slightly undulated petals. They consist of 5 petals, with the uppermost, also the largest, taking the form of a banner, while the others have an intermediate shape between a lip and a tube. They emit a delicate fragrance, with a sweet floral aroma with hints of honey and musk, very feminine. 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.

Fragrant Vetches or Sweet Peas thrive in warm, sunny locations with well-drained, even rocky soils. Their charming and old-fashioned flowering adds a lot of charm to bouquets, hanging baskets, and any support they valiantly cover in one season. They are equally charming and wandering in flower beds, using neighbouring plants or shrubs as support. Pair them with coreopsis, echinaceas, gauras, and annuals such as poppies or cosmos. They can also create beautiful carpets by mixing the colours of several varieties. They are inseparable from cottage gardens and also thrive in the fertile, well-watered soil of vegetable gardens or cutting gardens, where they provide a good supply of cut flowers.