Swainsona formosa (Sturt’s Desert Pea)
Swainsona formosa (Sturt's Desert Pea) Photo M Tranent
Swainsona formosa (Sturt's Desert Pea) Photo M Tranent
Swaisona formosa (Sturt's Desert Pea) Photo M Tranent
I was sent some lovely photos of Sturt’s Desert Pea by a reader of this blog. As you can see, the plant is dense and lush, as you would want to have it in the garden, not in a state of survival.
Sturt Peas need to be watered. They respond with excellent growth and numerous flowers. Water well pots are very good.
The only exception to this might be if you had a self sown plant. These are remarkably hardy as self sown plants seem to send the roots very deep.
They also respond to being fed. Use a fertiliser designed for native plants.
In the photos the plant is growing in a raised bed. It has been shown that so long as the planting mound is at least 10cm(4 inches) above the surrounding soil, that will give the required good drainage.
What a great speciman. One of my favourite plants which I now have the pleasure of having grown in my front yard (Adelaide’s NE suburbs).
After losing a couple in flower during the recent heatwave I planted a few more. Whilst slow to start, since I fed them with Seaweed solution a couple of times in March/April, they have ‘gone mad’ and become a neighbourhood attraction. It is now early June and they are coming into flower. Can you advise if this is normal as I’ve never seen them flower in winter?
Yes, that’s quite normal. They will usually flower anytime between June and October.
Indeed winter/spring is the flowering season. This plant would virtually flower all year around if conditions were less harsh than its natural situations.
Where can I get seeds?
Try Blackwood Seeds in SA and Nindethana seeds in WA. See websites. There are other companies, but these will sell smaller lots for the home gardener.
What does the new plants look like when grown from seed – as seedlings could some one show me a picture??