Flora Norton Sweet Pea Seedlings

Lathyrus Odoratus Flora Norton Sweet Peas

Flora Norton is a clear, blue sweet pea with unusually large wing petals that are translucent and slightly veined, reminiscent of butterfly wings. It is an exceptional sweet pea for its productivity - it will climb up to two and a half metres if you allow it to do so - and will continue to produce hundreds of small, perfectly formed flowers so long as you can keep up with the picking of them.

As one of the most loved heritage varieties its scent is just astonishing and this with its aquamarine good looks ensure that it remains one of the most popular sweet peas around. It has relatively short stems - just right for a posy on a bedside table. 

Browse our other Sweet Peas, or all of our Bedding Plants.

Our Sweet Peas are delivered in purpose-designed, recycled cardboard packaging, and are ready to be planted out when you get them.
We generally send them out between March and May, but we will email you with the likely delivery timescale once you have placed your order.

Growing Flora Norton

Many English gardens abound with wonderful blues, lilacs and purples and Flora Norton contributes enormously to the blue symphony if grown on canes in the centre of any herbaceous border to float height and shimmering colour above the perennials. She is perhaps a little vigorous for the average pot, but she would look marvellous in a large, lead urn with suitable support.

There is an orchestra of blue sweet peas to combine with our first violin Flora Norton - from handsome, deep blue Lord Nelson to the wafty Albutt Blue or stick to other gentler shades like the Spencer variety Solitude with frilly, lavender coloured flowers.

Features

• Colour: pale blue, translucent
• Stem: short
• Height: up to 2.4 m
• Type: Heritage Grandiflora
• Scent: top of the range
• Flowering: May to August
• Planting Months: March-June

Flora Norton Sweet Peas do best in well worked, moisture retentive soil. Adding organic matter really makes a difference and is best done the autumn before. But on the day is very much better than not at all. Your plants will do best in open ground, but you can get good results planting Sweet Peas in window boxes and pots of sufficient size - allow at least 3 litres per plant and remember that these are quite deep-rooted plants. In containers, the ideal planting mix is 50% compost, 40% topsoil and 10% well-rotted manure. Ordinary potting compost is OK, but you will get fewer flowers.

A range of supports can be used from twiggy branches to willow wigwams to posts with netting stretched between. Whatever you use, do the construction work before planting. Think about the position - Sweet Peas can cope with a little shade but flower better in full sun.

Space plants about 30 cm apart and about 5 cm from their supports. The hole should be deep enough to plant the full length of the rootball and allow enough so the soil finishes level with the lowest pair of leaves. Check to make sure they are climbing well every week or so, as they grow quickly. Tie into their supports if not.

Sweet Peas biggest need is for water - they are incredibly thirsty plants. So water well after planting and make sure they never completely dry out. They are greedy too so you will lengthen their flowering period if you give them a high potash and phosphate fertiliser every 7-10 days once buds begin to form. Home-made comfrey liquid is perfect or Tomorite will do - especially if you are on a sandy soil.

Cut the flowers as they develop pick them, otherwise they run to seed and stop flowering.

Did You Know?

A sweet pea that hails from California, Flora Norton was introduced by Morse Vaughan way back in 1905 and has been cherished for its glowing colour and especially large wings.