Type: Summer perennial
Height: 40-50cm
Placement: Semi-shade to full sun
Quantity: Min. 50 seeds
Germination rate: 90%
Plant spacing: 15x25cm
Colour: Blue-violet
Sowing: March-June in 1cm depth
Flowering: June-August. Does not flower until year two.
Tufted vetch is a climbing plant up to 1 metre long, branching and producing a profusion of the most beautiful purple flower clusters. The flowers attract lots of pollinators in the form of bees and other insects and look fantastic.
Tufted vetch can grow in tall grass as it uses tiny tendrils to climb up other vegetation. If tufted vetch is left alone, you can sometimes see large cushions of blue-violet flowers on an area of tall grass where it grows. I enjoy this every summer here at Lindelyst.
However, as with so many other perennials, you have to be patient, because the first year the plant doesn't look like much. Only when it gets hold in year two, it starts to look like something. If you want the plant to grow in a place with tall grass, you can help it on its way by keeping the soil around it weed-free for the first year or two until it has really taken hold. Alternatively, it can be grown in an established flower bed and moved when it has grown a little bigger.
NOTE: Tufted vetch spreads via its roots, so it's not well suited in a dense perennial bed. Plant it somewhere where it can have plenty of space and you can enjoy it year after year.
