Sweet pea 'Duo Salmon'
Words: Graham Rice
The Wisley sweet pea trial is held every year on the Portsmouth Field and the combination of colour and fragrance is always an attraction to visitors. As this year's trial comes to an end, the latest awards that have resulted from previous year's trials have been confirmed. Three sweet peas received Awards of Garden Merit and especially outstanding is 'Duo Salmon'.
This is the second colour in the Duo Series, developed and introduced by Unwins Seeds, who have a long history of creating new sweet pea varieties stretching back over a hundred years.
'Duo Salmon' features soft salmony red standards (the upright parts at the back of the flower) and blushed white wings with lilac tints to create a lovely color combination. With flower stems up to 17cm (7in) in length and with a consistent four flowers per stem, this is an ideal garden variety and received its award after being grown in exactly the same way that most of us grow sweet peas – and not on the cordon system favoured by exhibitors. And the fragrance is excellent, the judges rated it as 'highly scented'.
Two other two varieties also received the Award of Garden Merit this time. 'Lipstick', also from Unwins, has vivid carmine red flowers held on very long stems, 27cm (11in), so is ideal for exhibition. By contrast 'Cherub Crimson', from Owl's Acre Sweet Peas, is a prolific bush variety reaching just 40cm (16in) height with deep red flowers.
Sweet pea 'Duo Salmon' is available from Unwins Seeds