Crop type: Peas
Pisum sativum ‘Vivado’
Common name: Pea ‘Vivado’
Crop slug: peas
This Allotment Pro editorial draft summarises the cited RHS cultivar profile and its linked crop guidance. Check the sources and adjust cultivation decisions for local conditions.RHS cultivar profile
1 - Overview
‘Vivado’ is an AGM compact climbing maincrop pea, bred for late-season performance. It reaches around 60cm and gives a high yield of sweet-tasting shelling peas. The RHS highlights its excellent disease resistance, a valuable feature for successive sowings that continue cropping as summer conditions favour mildew and other pea diseases.
Sow from March to June and harvest according to each batch, potentially from May into September.
2 - Size
- Ultimate height
- 0.5–1 metre; around 60cm typical
- Ultimate spread
- 0.1–0.5 metre
- Time to maturity
- one year
- Crop type
- compact late-season maincrop shelling pea
Space seed about 7.5cm apart and use twiggy sticks or low netting to keep the heavy crop clear of the soil.
3 - Growing conditions
- Suitable soils
- Chalk, clay, loam or sand
- Moisture
- Moist but well drained
- Preferred pH
- Acid, alkaline or neutral
Choose fertile, humus-rich soil in which roots stay moist but never waterlogged. Mature compost and a summer mulch help maintain pod-filling moisture.
4 - Position and hardiness
- Light
- Full sun
- Aspect
- East-, south- or west-facing
- Exposure
- Sheltered
- Hardiness
- H2
Sow only after outdoor soil reaches about 10°C, or raise early batches indoors. Shelter prevents compact but heavily podded stems from being flattened.
5 - Colour and seasonal interest
Compact green climbing stems carry rounded glaucous-green leaflets, curling tendrils and white summer flowers. These develop into numerous straight medium-green shelling pods holding sweet bright-green peas.
6 - Botanical details
- Family
- Fabaceae
- Native to Great Britain and Ireland
- No
- Foliage
- Deciduous
- Habit
- Compact climbing annual
- Name status
- Accepted
Genus
Pisum is a small genus of annual legumes. Hollow climbing stems carry compound tendril-bearing leaves and butterfly-shaped flowers followed by seed pods.
Safety
The fresh peas are edible. Never eat sowing seed treated with agricultural chemicals.
7 - How to grow
Cultivation
Sow successive batches from March to June, 5cm deep and around 7.5cm apart. A 15cm-wide triple-row trench suits its compact stature. Put low netting or twiggy supports in place and protect seedlings from mice, pigeons, slugs and snails.
Water when flowers open and again two weeks later, then maintain root moisture through pod swelling. Pick full green pods every few days through the late season to sustain its high yield and preserve sweetness.
Propagation
Propagate by seed, directly or in deep modules where cold wet soil threatens germination.
Suggested locations
- Late-season vegetable plot
- Supported raised bed
- Cottage or informal garden
- Large container
- Successional pea row
Pruning
No pruning is required. Regular picking promotes more pods; cut finished stems at ground level.
Pests
May be susceptible to pea moth, aphids, pea and bean weevil, thrips, pigeons, slugs, snails and mice. Use physical protection and regular inspection.
Diseases
‘Vivado’ has excellent disease resistance. Rotation, airflow, even root moisture and dry foliage remain useful precautions against powdery and downy mildews, wilts, rots, grey mould, leaf and pod spot and viruses.