Sweet Pea
Lathyrus odoratus
'Cupani' Sweet Peas. Photo from Purple Gallery.
To see more flowers visit our Flower Galleries.
The method for saving sweet peas can be used for both annual and perennial sweet peas.
Sweet peas are a lovely old-fashioned vine, usually with flowers in the white, pink, mauve, purple range. Peas are in the legume family, the maturing pods resemble stringbeans.
Allow the flowers to fade and drop naturally, where the flowers were held on the vine will develop an elongating pod that will be at first a beautiful bright medium-green, then as the pod matures and swells with seeds the bright green will begin to dull and fade to yellowy-green. When the seeds inside are fully mature the pods will turn "lunch-bag" brown. They may then be removed from the plant and placed on a plate to dry for several days.
You may notice the pods begin to split as they dry, you can help the pod to open by running the top edge of a fingernail along the seam in the pod, thus spreading it open. With your finger carefully push the seeds out of the pod and allow them to continue to dry for several more days on an open plate. Dried seeds are round and about an 1/8 inch wide, they are a dull tan-grey.
by National Garden Bureau
Horticulture Update ~ March 2005
Texas Cooperative Extension
Texas A&M University
Factsheet No. 0832
Ornamental Plants Plus Version 3.0
Michigan State University Extension
Fragrant Annuals
Annuals for Specific Uses
by Julie Riley, Horticultural Agent, Alaska Cooperative Extension
AlaskaMasterGardeners.Org
Gardener's Corner Volume 2, Issue 3, Spring 2006
Urban Programs Resource Network
University of Illinois Extension
Hanging Baskets and Window Boxes
by Karen Russ, HGIC Information Specialist
and Bob Polomski, Extension Consumer Horticulturist
Factsheet No. HGIC 1154
Home and Garden Information Center
Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service