Flowers, Sweet Pea , 'Cupani' - Fragrant Grandiflora (The Original Bi-colour Wild Italian)

Lathyrus odoratus, The Original - Bi-colour Wild Italian, Cupani Type (Fragrant) First cultivated around 1699, this is the original Sweet Pea, raised by an English schoolmaster from seed sent by Father Cupani of Sicily. Its intensely fragrant blooms of mauve and maroon flutter along vines reaching 4–6 ft, carrying the unmistakable charm of the earliest Lathyrus. Pick regularly to encourage its generous flowering through summer. Often called the mother of all Sweet Peas, this hardy annual should not be confused with the later Matucana strain introduced in Peru in 1920.  Cherished for its history as much as its perfume, this vigorous climber thrives in rich soil and sun, offering gardeners a living link to the earliest days of Sweet Pea cultivation, Seed Count Approx - 13 avg 

  SOWING - Plant late autumn or early spring in pots & provide winter protection (Cold greenhouse - not heat), plant out in early spring after frosts for best blooms. Plant each seed in starter pot, water once & only again after shoot appears, then water & feed regularly thereafter. Use a good quality compost and plant them about 1cm deep, cover with compost and water them well