Plant Library

Other Names:  Blue Pea

Description:

A beautiful, fine evergreen shrub great for planting along walkways where the scent can be appreciated; attracts bees; a short lived shrub but will re-seed; prune out interior branches to keep it looking its best

Ornamental Features

African Scurf Pea is bathed in stunning fragrant violet pea-like flowers along the branches in mid spring. It has attractive dark green evergreen foliage. The narrow leaves are highly ornamental and remain dark green throughout the winter.

Landscape Attributes

African Scurf Pea is a multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with an upright spreading habit of growth. It lends an extremely fine and delicate texture to the landscape composition which can make it a great accent feature on this basis alone.

This shrub will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and should only be pruned after flowering to avoid removing any of the current season's flowers. It is a good choice for attracting bees to your yard. Gardeners should be aware of the following characteristic(s) that may warrant special consideration;

• Invasive

African Scurf Pea is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Hedges/Screening
• General Garden Use

Planting & Growing

African Scurf Pea will grow to be about 12 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 12 feet. It has a low canopy, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 15 years.

This shrub should only be grown in full sunlight. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It may require supplemental watering during periods of drought or extended heat. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This species is not originally from North America.