New plants: Sweet pea ‘Cedric Morris’
New wild-look sweet pea outshines two enduring favourites in RHS trials
The much-loved ‘Cupani’ and ‘Matucana’ sweet peas have been some of the most popular Lathyrus cultivars for many years for their colours, their scent and their natural look. But the latest RHS trial of sweet peas revealed that the newly released ‘Cedric Morris’ is better than both.
The RHS sweet pea trial
There are two sweet peas with bicoloured maroon and violet flowers, both bearing close similarities to the original wild sweet pea from Sicily, that have been popular for many years. In about 1955, ‘Matucana’ was selected in a garden in Peru for its exceptional scent; then in 1992, ‘Cupani’ was selected from wild plants for its larger flower size and improved vigour.Now a third
Roger Parsons, Plant Heritage National Collection holder and a member of the trial assessment panel, says: “The trial plants of ‘Cedric Morris’ impressed me because the flowers were produced in abundance over a long period. There were many side shoots, ensuring flowers appeared for the full height of the plants. The flowers were a shade brighter than those of ‘Matucana’ and ‘Cupani’.
“‘Matucana’, which had previously been awarded the AGM, fared less well on all the above factors during the two year trial, so for me, it has been superseded by this similar but better cultivar.”
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‘Cedric Morris’ is an annual climbing sweet pea with curling tendrils and pairs of grey-tinged green leaves. In summer, exceptionally fragrant flowers are produced, with dark red upper petals and violet wings. Autumn-sown plants reach about 2m in height; spring-sown plants reach about 1.5m.
James Horner, Head Gardener at Benton End in Suffolk, which was the home of the artist and plantsman Cedric Morris until his death in 1982, explained the origins of the ‘Cedric Morris’ sweet pea.
“This annual pea has a lovely story,” he said. “It was actually first given to Cedric Morris by another artist and plantsman, John Nash, who regularly shared plants with Cedric. Cedric then gave seed to snowdrop pioneer John Morley and Country Life Gardens Editor Tony Venison.
Tony in turn gave seed to local plantspeople Sarah Cook and Jim Marshall, who are responsible for getting it into the Wisley trial. John Morley, and others, report that John Nash originally collected seed in the wild and that Cedric, who was well known for continuous selecting, kept it true to type.
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The ‘Cedric Morris’ sweet pea is raised in the same way as other sweet peas, by sowing seed in pots in autumn or spring. For more details check out this RHS video.
Where can I buy sweet pea ‘Cedric Morris’?
You can buy seed of Lathyrus odoratus ‘Cedric Morris’ from English Sweet Peas and from Roger Parsons.
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