Quick Facts
- Botanical Name: Lathyrus odoratus
- Classification: Spencer
- Petal Pattern: Solid/Self
- Color Profile: Orange cerise / Red
- Fragrance: Moderately Scented
- Breeder: Tremewan
- Year Introduced: 1989
- Flowering Type: Summer
Overview
'Restormel' is a striking summer-flowering Spencer sweet pea celebrated for its vibrant orange-cerise blooms. Finding a truly excellent red or cerise sweet pea has historically been difficult, as crimsons often tend to be overly vigorous with coarse spikes and badly positioned flowers. 'Restormel' stands out as a remarkable exception and is generally regarded as the absolute best red sweet pea for producing top-quality, reliable exhibition flower spikes.
Growth Habit
This variety is a tall, climbing vine that requires substantial vertical support. It produces classic Spencer-type ruffled blooms on strong stems, successfully avoiding the coarse, unruly growth habit that plagues many other red varieties.
Cultivation Notes
Because it is a summer-flowering variety, 'Restormel' is a "long-day" plant that requires at least 12 hours of daylight to successfully initiate blooming. To maximize its potential for its famous exhibition-quality spikes, it should be provided with rich, deeply prepared soil and can be rigorously trained on the cordon system. Like all Spencers, regular harvesting and deadheading are required to maintain flower production.
Historical Notes
'Restormel' was bred by Tremewan and introduced to the public in 1989, having been documented in the Proceedings of the Royal Horticultural Society in 1987. Its introduction was a major milestone for red sweet peas, as breeders had long struggled to eliminate negative traits in reds, such as blue-edged petals in hot weather or poor flower placement on the stem.
In the Garden
Grown for: Premium exhibition flower spikes, vibrant summer cut flowers, and adding a striking punch of cerise-red to the garden.
Companion Planting: Pair with crisp whites like 'Jilly' or 'White Supreme' to make the orange-cerise color pop, and use airy fillers such as Ammi (False Queen Anne's Lace) or Gypsophila in vase arrangements to soften its intense red tones.
