Blue-podded Capucijner Pea
Pisum sativum cv.
This English, or shelling, pea prefers cool, moist conditions.
The Blue-podded Capucijner (cap-ou-SIGH-nah) is a hardy pea first grown by the Franciscan Capuchin monks in Holland and Germany during the early 1600s. Its particularly beautiful, bi-colored flowers are lilac-pink and wine-red, fading to blue as they wilt; pods are deep maroon to inky purple, fading to blue and leathery brown when mature,. It is best used as a soup pea by picking when the pods are full; but it can also be grown as an edible-podded sugar pea by harvesting before peas have developed. This English, or shelling, pea prefers cool, moist conditions and take 70 to 90 days to mature. Monticello gardeners support the twining vines with tall branches, or “pea sticks.”
In Bloom at Monticello is made possible by support from The Richard D. and Carolyn W. Jacques Foundation.