'Solitude' Sweet Pea Seedlings

Solitude Sweet Pea

One of the most opulent of sweet peas, Solitude's petals almost seem gathered at the centre because of the acres of wavy frill on show. To counterbalance all this showing off, Solitude is a gorgeous, plain lavender blue colour which becomes slightly paler towards the middle. An average Solitude stem is very long and will offer you four (and sometimes more) amazing flowers, each placed so that they do not interfere with the next flower up. Its sweet pea scent is slightly stronger and sweeter than most other Spencer varieties, making it one of our favourite sweet peas. Solitude displays unusual vigour and so withstands weather well and will clamber to the top of most supports.

Browse our sweet pea range.

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.

Features

• Colour: lavender blue and very frilly
• Stem: very long, well placed flowers
• Height: 2 m plus
• Type: Spencer
• Scent: better than most Spencers
• Flowering: June to August
• Planting Months: March-June

In Your Garden Design

Solitude definitely needs friends growing nearby. Albutt Blue's picotee edge would look smashing set against its lavender colour or try a haze of blues by introducing Just Julia to the mix. Solitude is an exhibition quality sweet pea that happens to work magically in a garden - scaling a trellis with some lovely honeysuckle like the vivid but unscented Tellmanniana or the scented Graham Thomas. Or tie it to a wigwam of hazel canes to add vertical interest in a border. Other blue sweet peas that we stock include the dark blue Lord Nelson which is a heritage variety with smaller flowers and a stunning scent, but it is worth being tempted by anything on the list - we only stock the exceptional ones.

Solitude 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?

Solitude is becoming increasingly well known having only been on the market since 2014. It was bred in Ireland by Sydney Harrod and is a descendant of the famous pink sweet pea Nora Holman.