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Annual Biennial

Pisum sativum 'Oregon Sugar Pod'

pea (mangetout) 'Oregon Sugar Pod'

A fast-growing mangetout variety growing about 0.9-1m high, with white flowers and a long succession of long, stout, crisp, stringless, sweet, bright green edible pods Peas, Pisum sativum, are nitrogen-fixing annuals, climbing by tendrils up to 2m high, with pinnate leaves of up to eight glaucous, rounded elliptic to oblong leaflets, up to 7cm long, and usually white flowers up to 3cm long, in summer, followed by round, green, edible, protein-rich seeds, in long cyclindrical pods from summer until the first frosts; the pods as well as the seeds of sugarsnap varieties are also edible, as are the flattened pods of mangetout varieties; the young shoots and leaves are also edible.

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Ultimate height

0.5–1 metres

Time to ultimate height

1–2 years

Ultimate spread

0.5–1 metres

Chalk

Clay

Loam

Sand

Moisture

Moist but well–drained

pH

Acid, Alkaline, Neutral

	Stem	Flower	Foliage	Fruit
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter

Full sun

Aspect

South–facing or West–facing or East–facing

Exposure

Sheltered

Hardiness
Hardiness ratings
All ratings refer to the UK growing conditions unless otherwise stated. Minimum temperature ranges (in degrees C) are shown in brackets
H1a: under glass all year (>15C)
H1b: can be grown outside in the summer (10 - 15)
H1c: can be grown outside in the summer (5 - 10)
H2: tolerant of low temperatures, but not surviving being frozen (1 to 5)
H3: hardy in coastal and relatively mild parts of the UK (-5 to 1)
H4: hardy through most of the UK (-10 to -5)
H5: hardy in most places throughout the UK even in severe winters (-15 to -10)
H6: hardy in all of UK and northern Europe (-20 to -15)
H7: hardy in the severest European continental climates (< -20)

Botanical details

Family: Fabaceae
Native to the UK: No
Foliage: Deciduous
Habit: Climbing
Genus: A very small genus of annual, flowering plants from legume family. Native to SW Asia and NE Africa, species P. sativum is widely cultivated for food. Hollow. Climbing or trailing stems bear compound leaves and tendrils. Flowers are butterfly-shaped, 1-3 per stalk. The fruit is a pod
Name status: Accepted

How to grow

Cultivation

Sow seed from early spring, once the soil is warm, to early summer, in a double row at about 7cm spacings in a flat-bottomed drill 5cm deep and 15cm wide, in full sun in well-drained but humus-rich, moisture-retentive, preferably near-neutral soil, provide support such as twiggy hazel sticks, trellis or netting, and pick pods regularly to ensure a continuous crop; for more advice, see pea cultivation

Propagation

Propagate by seed sown 5cm deep, from early spring to early summer

Suggested planting locations and garden types

City and courtyard gardens
Cottage and informal garden
Flower borders and beds
Wall side borders

Pruning

No pruning required

Pests

May be susceptible to pea moth, and by aphids, pea and bean weevil, pea thrips, pigeons, slugs, and snails; mice may eat newly-sown seeds

Diseases

May be affected by powdery mildews, and by downy mildews, foot and root rot, Fusarium wilt, grey moulds, pea leaf and pod spot, and virus diseases

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