Swainsona maccullochiana - Ashburton Pea - 30 seeds

Swainsona maccullochiana, commonly known as the Ashburton Pea is an annual from the Pilbara and Gascoyne regions of Western Australia and is one of the pea family related to Sturt's Desert Pea, it is a showy species that grows best in cultivation if treated as an annual.

Growing normally as a single stemmed plant, it ranges in size from 50cm to as tall as 2m in height. 
It produces attractive pea flowers to approximately 3cm in showy terminal racemes in the Summer. Although normally a vibrant purple to deep blue, flower colour can be red, blue or pink.  It is not known what determines flower colour, although it is suspected that this is related to trace elements in the soil.

Ashburton Pea is a dry land or desert species, it is found naturally in dry, arid locations although usually in moister low lying areas along seasonal watercourses and after seasonal rains it can form a flowering carpet that stretches over very wide areas, often in association with Everlasting Daisies.

Ashburton Pea likes well drained sandy soil in a sunny position, as it can grow quite tall it can need some support to be at its best and benefits from being grown on a trellis or against a wall.  It is only lightly frost tolerant although in its natural environment it experiences quite intense inland cold and is best grown as an annual. 
 
Propagation from seed is straight forward after the standard scarification pre-treatment for pea seed.

30 premium quality seeds shipped on receipt of cleared funds.