Cupani

Cupani is the original sweet pea (Lathyrus odoratus), a treasured heirloom sent from Sicily by the monk Father Franciscus Cupani around 1699 and the ancestor of all modern sweet peas. Its small bicolored flowers, about 3.5 cm across with deep maroon-purple standards and violet-blue wings borne two to a stem, carry an exceptionally strong, honey-sweet perfume ranked among the finest of any sweet pea. A tendril climber to about 6 feet, it is more heat-tolerant than most and thrives in rich, well-drained soil in sun or part shade. Deadhead and feed regularly for a long season of bloom.