Matucana
The other great scented bicolour. Choose it over Cupani for slightly larger flowers, but do not bother growing both.
Matucana is a deep maroon and violet bicolour with a scent that is routinely described as the strongest of any sweet pea, and it is the variety most often recommended when someone says their sweet peas do not smell of anything. It is named after a town in Peru, which is a puzzle given that sweet peas are native to Sicily, and its exact origins are disputed. What is not disputed is the scent, which is the reason it stays in catalogues.
Quick facts
- Botanical name
- Lathyrus odoratus
- Type
- Heirloom
- Category
- Old fashioned grandiflora
- Difficulty
- Easy, good first crop
- Hardiness
- Hardy, takes Irish frost
- In Ireland
- Cloche or fleece helps
- Germination
- 10 to 21 days at 12 to 18C
- Sowing depth
- 2cm
- Spacing
- 20cm apart, 30cm between rows
- Height
- 1.8m
- Position
- Full sun
- Containers
- Grows well in pots
- Sowing to flowering
- 14 to 20 weeks
- In flower
- June to September
Sowing and harvest calendar for Matucana
Months shaded below are the reliable windows for Irish conditions.
Where to buy Matucana sweet pea seeds in Ireland
Irish suppliers that stock this, so postage stays domestic and seed arrives in time to sow. These are plain links, not paid placements.
Garden centres and mixed retailers
- Mr Middleton Irish Around twenty named varieties, the deepest range in Ireland Mail order arm of a long established Mary Street shop, carries the familiar named varieties the organic specialists skip. Visit Mr Middleton , Co. Dublin
- Johnstown Garden Centre Irish Over two hundred flower seed lines Third generation family business near Naas with the widest branded range, though popular varieties sell out by midsummer. Visit Johnstown Garden Centre , Co. Kildare
Why it suits Ireland
The old fashioned bicolours suit our weather better than the big exhibition Spencers do. Smaller flowers shed rain rather than collapsing under it, the plants are less top heavy in wind, and the wirier growth is more resilient to the kind of August night that flattens a border.
Matucana also flowers early. From an autumn sowing it will typically be in flower in June, which is worth having in a country where September light fades fast and the flowering season is squeezed at the back end.
The one Irish caution is shelter. Scent needs still air to be noticed, and a sweet pea on an exposed western wigwam is scentless as far as anyone walking past is concerned. Give it a corner with a wall or hedge on the southwest side, and site it where people actually sit or walk.
Growing notes
Sow in October for the earliest and strongest plants, or in February and March under cover. Root trainers or deep pots, 2cm deep, kept cool at around 15C rather than in a warm room.
Pinch the tip out above the third or fourth pair of leaves so the plant branches from the base. Matucana responds well to this and makes a bushy, well furnished plant rather than a single stem.
Plant out 20cm apart in March or April into ground that has had compost or rotted manure dug in, at the foot of a wigwam of 2.4m canes driven well in and tied hard at the top. It reaches around 1.8m.
Water deeply and feed weekly with a high potash feed once flowering starts. Dry roots are what brings on mildew in August and finishes the plant early.
Pick constantly. Old fashioned types set pods readily and will shut down within a fortnight if you let them. Twice a week is the minimum, and check for hidden pods each time.
Common questions
What is the difference between Matucana and Cupani?
Honestly, very little, and some growers argue there is none. Both are maroon and violet bicolours in the old fashioned grandiflora style with exceptional scent. Matucana is usually listed as having slightly larger flowers and occasionally a third or fourth flower per stem, but seed sold under the two names is not always reliably distinct. Grow whichever your supplier has, and do not spend money on both expecting a contrast.
Where does the Peruvian name come from?
Nobody has a settled answer, and that is worth saying plainly rather than repeating one of the stories. Lathyrus odoratus is native to Sicily and southern Italy, not South America, so a variety named after Matucana in Peru is an oddity. The most common explanation is that it was collected or distributed from there at some point, but the documentation is thin. Treat any confident origin story you read about it with caution.
How strong is the scent really?
Strong enough that a small bunch cut in the morning will scent a hallway all day, and strong enough that you notice the plant before you see it on a still evening. Scent is not a fixed property though: it carries best in warm still damp air and almost disappears in wind, which is why Irish gardeners get more from sweet peas in a sheltered corner than in an open exposed one. Site it accordingly.
More sweet peas to consider
Cupani
Heirloom / Old fashioned grandiflora
Grow this if scent is the whole point. Nothing bred since smells better, and small flowers on short stems is the price.
Growing notes and stockistsPainted Lady
Heirloom / Old fashioned bicolour
The prettiest of the old heirlooms and a good scented alternative if the maroon of Cupani is too dark for your border.
Growing notes and stockistsGwendoline
AGMOpen pollinated / Spencer
The one to grow if you want long stems for a vase without giving up the smell, which most large flowered sweet peas ask you to do.
Growing notes and stockists