Elisabeth x Llanover pea

Elisabeth a lovely salmon pink flowered mangetout pea crossed to a rare heritage white flowered tall pea, Llanover. 

Pictures of the F1 generation growing

The Purple flower colour again confirms white x Salmon pink = purple/magenta coloured flowers in the F1 generation. Next growing season colour will segregate for salmon-purple-white with some subtle variation within the colours.

I only sampled a couple of pods of peas, these were definitely shelling peas rather than a mangetout, with pods quickly becoming fibrous.  Seeds tasted were lovely, nicely sweet with a good fresh pea taste.

Surprisingly the saved F2 or second generation peas from the cross are very varied, I was not expecting this and suggests this was not a straight forward cross between two stable varieties.  The seeds are what I would expect the F3 seed to look like, with smooth and wrinkly types and a range of seed coat colours which should indicate the colour of the next generation seeds. The darker speckle ones likely to be purple flowered, the buff white round pea white or and the green seeded most likely white flowered peas.

F2 seeds and pods

 

Interestingly the dried pea pods divided into two basic types, on the right quite thick walled pods, they feel hard to touch and I think when fresh would have been quite tough and fibrous to try and eat. The pods on the left felt thinner and softer to the touch and had a slightly raised and lumpy feel to them. I'm pretty sure the gene for non fibrous pods must be recessive. Whether a true mangetout can be bred from this combination I'm unsure at the moment.  

                            

Two types of pods

I have just sown the third generation seeds (F3)