Cupid Pink Sweet Pea Seeds (Lathyrus odoratus)

Lathyrus odoratus “Cupid Pink”

Sweet pea, sweet vetch, musk pea: this flower owes its career to a 17th-century Sicilian monk, Francesco Cupani, who sent its first seeds throughout Europe. The “Cupid Pink” selection offers a dwarf, compact version, with its fragrance intact but requiring no support—ideal for balconies.

Characteristics:

• Delicate fragrance: soft pink flowers with a sweet, gentle scent, one of the most sought-after fragrances in the garden.
• Dwarf variety: compact growth requiring no staking, perfect for pots, planters, or borders.
• Excellent as a cut flower: the more flowers you pick, the more it blooms again.

Precautions:

• Sweet pea seeds are not edible: despite their striking resemblance to garden peas, they are toxic if swallowed. Never confuse them with vegetable peas, label your packets clearly, and keep them out of reach of children.

Sowing advice:

• Position: sunny, with cool conditions around the base—it enjoys sun but suffers in heatwaves.
• Soil: light, deep, moist, and well drained, preferably alkaline. As a legume, it does not need nitrogen, but it benefits from deeply worked soil for its taproot.
• Method: soak the seeds for 12 to 24 hours in lukewarm water before sowing, as their seed coat is hard. Sow in deep pots from February to March, or directly outdoors after the last frosts. Pinch out young plants above 3 pairs of leaves to encourage branching. See how to sow your seeds.

Care advice:

• Water regularly, especially in pots: sweet peas dislike drying out.
• Cut the flowers regularly and remove developing pods: as soon as the plant sets seed, it stops flowering.

Beneficial combinations:

• As a legume, it fixes nitrogen and enriches the soil in its planter or flower bed. It combines well with sweet alyssum in a fragrant balcony arrangement.

Benefits for biodiversity:

• Its flowers are particularly popular with bumblebees, which are powerful enough to open their closed, “boat-shaped” corolla.
• Like all legumes, it naturally enriches the soil through its root nodules.

Uses:

• Strictly ornamental: balconies, planters, borders, and especially bouquets, where its fragrance works wonders indoors.

Symbolism:
Sweet peas symbolize delicate pleasures and tender farewells. In the Victorian language of flowers, they were given to say, “thank you for a pleasant time.”

Harvesting your own seeds:
Allow a few pods to develop at the end of the season and turn completely brown on the plant, then harvest them before they split open. Label the packet clearly: these seeds must not be eaten. See how to store your seeds.

Commitment to Quality: at SemiSauvage - Permaculture, we grow and select our seeds with respect for all living things as our guiding principle. Based near the Auvergne Volcanoes, we choose open-pollinated, non-hybrid varieties, tested for their germination rate, carefully sorted and packaged, with no chemical treatment. Our conviction: to give gardeners back the ability to resow, year after year, seeds that truly belong to them.

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