Lathyrus odoratus "Swan Lake" (Spencer Waved Sweet Pea) Hardy Annual Height: 200 -250cm (6-8Â) Spread: 30cm (12") Exposure: Full sun, Partial shade Hardiness: Hardy Soil type: Well-drained/light, Clay/heavy, Chalky/alkaline Time to plant seeds: September to May Here is some more info on this sweet pea L. odoratus "Swan Lake" is one of the "Spencer Waived" Varieties. It has beautiful pure white blooms of ruffled petals, making it a delightful garden addition in any garden. The purity of the colour contrasts well with many other Sweet Pea varieties. Check my list please Thanks Carol

Perennial sweet peas are nothing like annual sweet peas when it comes to their growing requirements. I have them and they bloom away in the hottest of weather!!! I can't say if they need a cold period to sprout but as far as blooming, mine bloomed like crazy in August!!! It is 99 degrees here this week and they are blooming!!! They also don't have any scent!!! I winter sowed mine about 3 years ago and they sprouted and the first year they looked very sad and didn't bloom and I planted them near a trellis and forgot they were there. At that point they were about 3 inches tall and just a green little plant. The next year Lo and behold they grew up the trellis and bloomed away and have come back every year!!! This picture was taken last year when they were reblooming in July just about this time of year. Here is a link that might be useful: Perennial sweet peas

The place I got them from stopped carrying them. Was it an on line site or a local place? Have you tried inquiring about the pea even though they don't still carry it? You might try asking at Name That Plant The link below shows the names and ranges of 60 different Lathyrus. You might also try contacting Fragrant Garden Nursery and see if they might know what pea you had and if they might carry it. I was going to order from them several years ago, and checked out numerous ones, and saw that the vine length varied a lot on some of them. Sue Here is a link that might be useful: Lathyrus

Well, I have tried growing sweet peas in containers and trained it to grow up a bamboo pyramid, but these aren't called topiaries. Living topiaries are normally plants that have a long life, and sweet peas, being annuals are most certainly not. They do well for a short time in containers but as summers come, their pots tend to dry out more often, the plants come to seed too fast and they start getting aphid infested and tired looking by mid summer. Sweet peas are sensitive to heat and need to remain cool. Once the blooms set in, you'd need to deadhead them as often as you can. And try as you might, the leaves and stem start turning yellow as teh days get hotter. Believe me, even if you tried pruning them as often as you can, they won't look neat and tidy. Howeve,r having said all that, by all means, though, try the plant as a container plant, but just keep in mind this plant is an annual and won't last as long.