Sweet Peas

I planted a bunch of sweet peas about 3 to 4 weeks ago, since that time we have had so much rain and I was really stupid and planted them where it was really soggy. A few came up but I slug baited too late and so even have fewer up. I am going to replant into raised beds and cover with plastic and of course put out the slug bait. Will I get bloom by mid June? I was told to soak the seed in hot water and nick the seed? Any other tricks for success with these. Last year I had such nice blooms but when it rains here it rains sometimes for such long periods.

Sweet peas usually don't need nicking unless they are species ones, the regular ones don't. Just a soak, but not too long. I don't think plastic is needed. However, sweet peas take forever to get into bloom, it fact, is too late to plant now, in my opinion. If you plant in Jan maybe blooms by June.

I planted mine last fall and they didn't really get going till February and then started blooming in late March. Granted, they were probably doing alot of underground growing all winter.

I got a volunteer growing last fall. I covered it along with my lettuce all winter; it survived and has been in continual bloom for the last 5 weeks :) Along with all the ones that I deliberately planted in the spring.

Mine usually take 8-10 weeks or so from seed to bloom -- mid-March planting and mid to late May blooms. Our torrid summers usually kill them by mid-July.

Mine seem to take 6 months, I know it sounds strange. I have some queen charlotte from secret seeds in March or April and I still don't have a bloom or bud. The stay short for a long time and they don't bloom till they reach a certain height.

There are a few simple rules to remember when growing sweetpeas. For best results sow in the fall in the deepest containers that you have got. Sweetpeas like deep root runs and will grow strongly if they can get their roots down. In the UK you can buy root trainers these are extra thin but very long modules just for growing plants like sweetpeas.Put them in a cold frame and leave them pinching out the growth points when the plants have 3 sets of true leaves. Dont forget to keep them watered. By the spring you should have substantial plants ready for planting out. Sweetpeas like plenty of feed too when planted so add plenty of well rotted manure or compost. MOst importantly protect from slugs and water,water,water.

btw I have never found the need to nick or soak seed as they have always germinated in the usual way.

Hope this helps.

I did finally have a crop of sweet peas but it got hotter here early and they just didn't last as they don't care for the heat. I never did get enough for Katy's wedding but they were ready later.

Psilo to the rescue!!!!!!

A volunteer sprouted for me in my veggie/cutting garden last fall, so I covered it with row cover and wondered if it would survive the winter. It did, and that has been the most florific plant I have ever had! Tons and tons of flowers.

For the first few weeks I cut every blossom (greedy) but I stopped a couple weeks ago. I went out to harvest a few seeds yesterday, not a single pod had set!

Do they need bees to pollinate? The US bee population has been severely depleted due to mites the past few years, and I would really hate to have to hand-pollinate the flowers. Or is it something else? I don't recall having problems with seed set any other year.

Aphids have been a real problem this year (for the first time) but I am doing my best to keep them controlled.

Any more tips would be so welcome! Few people that I know grow them, except as a "curiosity" but I adore the fragrance. I grow them for cutting, not for the effect in the garden (ugly plants).

And this is the first year that they haven't died of heat exhaustion by mid-June. Still blooming and growing, all 10 plants.

LL, I have had great luck with sweet peas (why, I don't know) and this year has been the best yet. I am cutting about 100 stems a day. I haven't had any problems with bugs, and they are setting seed (I keep trying to cut them before they can seed but I keep finding pods I missed) so the insects are pollinating. I always have a few vines still blooming in November - they are in a sheltered spot by my back door. My biggest problem is keeping them staked - some are around 7 feet. For the past few years the springs have been so cold and wet that I had to plant seed several times because it kept rotting. This year I took a different route. I soaked the seeds in hot water overnight (I use a thermos so the water stays really hot.) I used a soilless seed starting medium and planted the seeds in large cellpacks (2" X 2"?). I put 2 seeds in each cellpack, in opposing corners, figuring I would cut off the weaker one. Well, when they germinated I just didn't have the heart. I grew them under flourescent lights until it was warm enough to harden them off. Meanwhile, I put a mixture of half composted manure and half compost a couple of inches deep where I was going to plant them. Popped them in the ground and they have done great. Pinched them back at 4" and stepped back. Normally I would mulch the beds right away but this spring was so wet and cold that I have only recently mulched the beds. The hardest part is cutting all the blooms every day so they won't go to seed! I wish I was this lucky with my other plants!

Cutting the blooms helps keep the plant vigorous and so producing more flowers. By cutting therefore, you are actually extending the plants life because as soon as it sets seeds it winds down thinking that its life is over.
Yes Lup sweetpeas do need bees to pollinate them and as you say aphids can be a real nuisance. The most important thing to remember with aphids is to make sure your growth tips arent damaged by them. Remove any aphids from this part and hopefully then the plant will grow strong enough to withstand any attack in the future.

If staking is a problem no2ho have you tried growing them up something else, a tree ot a wall maybe? this will give you all the height you need, though there is nothing to stop you nipping out the tops thus preventing them for growing any more. They will bush out more further down the plant as a result and give you flowers at a more manageable level.

I grow mine in my veggie/cutting garden; since every year (except this one!) they die of heat by mid-June, it is easy to train them around the outsides of my tomato cages, so I get double duty.

Good idea about starting them in peat pots; I seldom use them because they dry out so quickly indoors, but I think using the big ones might be a good answer.

I also think that since the volunteer survived outside all winter under cover, I am going to plant mine in September. Since bees are in very short supply I will pollinate a few myself, just to make sure that I get seeds. NoH20, I envy you all your bees! Reminds me that I need to post a thread about a project I found about regarding honeybees. Hopefully it will help replenish bee populations around the country (and world).

What varieties do you grow/recommend for fragrance? Usually I grow something like mixed color for fragrance, or whatever that company calls it. Any specific varieties that are good/not so good? (I love being able to ask real flower lovers!)

I tried one last spring called Unwin's , it was bicolor.

A friend of mine gave me some "Cupani" seeds. They came up behind my roses along a trellis and boy., do they smell good. E. I don't think I could be withoout at least some of them!
http://www.arcadian-archives.com/sweet.htm

I forgot to mention one of the most important things of all!! I have sweet peas growing in 4 different areas and only one of those is full sun. The ones in full sun have the hardest time. The ones in part sun do the best. Some get morning to early afternoon sun, and some get afternoon sun and they do equally well. I think Ohio summers are just too hot for all day sun for sweet peas.
I don't use peat pots, just the regular plastic cell packs (the larger seed starting cells). I wait until the plant is a couple inches tall and has a good root system and transplant on a cool cloudy day and they do fine.
We went a few years with almost no honeybees at all but I noticed we had a lot of unusual pollinators that I had never seen before who took up the slack. This year I am seeing more honeybees although not nearly as many as there should be. My neighbor grows a lot of vegetables and herbs and we both grow a lot of flowers and try to do it as organically as possible so I think that helps.
This year I grew 'Early Multiflora' and 'Royal Family' because they are always available locally and do well for me. I also grew 'April in Paris' from Renee's Garden seeds (Urban Gardener in Columbus carries them) and they are knockouts! The blooms are large, pale cream with lavender tinted edges and wonderful fragrance. Each stem has at least 4 blooms and the stems themselves are very long, great for cutting.
I found this site after I had already started my seeds; I definitely want to check it out next year. It is a little pricey but wow! what variety! http://www.fragrantgarden.com/index.htm
As far as fragrance goes, I just read the description to make sure it says that variety is fragrant.
Psilo, I don't know why I didn't think about pinching them back when they got too tall....DUH!!! Thanks for the advice. I have them growing on 4 foot chainlink fences. I weave 6 foot tall stakes through the chainlink so they are sticking up above the top of the fence by about two feet. When the plants start growing above the fence top I weave garden twine between the stakes to hold them up. But when they get over six feet I didn't know what to do....now I know to give them the Psilo pinch!

eh Noh2o I like that! has a certain ring to it! LOL

actually my pinching got me in trouble with dh this year!:O
for years I have always pinched out sweetpeas when they were young to make them produce more stems. This year DH trialled a new variety where the instructions said DO NOT PINCH but guess who did?? :( instead of nice tall sweetpeas we got really bushy plants no nore than 3 feet tall! :O

DH was not impressed!! :(( :D oooppsss!! ;)

I have had great good results with Queen Charlotte from secret seeds. I would recommend these to any one. I also grew april in paris from renees garden and they were a disaster, they went to all leaves few flowers, althought they were fragrant, not so much so as a pink jasmine.

How odd, BG! Do you think it is the difference in climates? Mine have lots of blooms on 8" stems, hold up well to the heat, humidity and rain, and just keep on producing. The flowers are bigger and have a heavier texture than any of the others I am growing. Strange, isn't it? I will have to check out Secret Seeds.

I planted Spencers this year, they have done really well in the heat and they are VERY fragrant. The ahpids are just now finding them. I've found that sweetpeas do better for me in full sun as long as something is planted in front of them to shade the bottom of the plants. they are still blooming, a few vines are 8 feet tall! I'm letting them go to seed now so I can have some for next year

I found an article by Tovah Martin that lists the best-smelling cultivars among the hundreds of varieties that she has grown. They are: Princess of Wales, Blanche Ferry, Cupani's Original (aka Matucana), Black Knight and Fairy Queen. All are antique varieties, and I hope to find at least a few!

I can't wait to start my quest!

Have you checked this one out? Be sure to wear a bib (drool, drool).

http://www.fragrantgarden.com/index.htm

nowater, this place is a little more expensive than Territorial Seed Company also here in Oregon. Territorial has great variety and a bit cheaper too. http://www.territorial-seed.com/
Good Luck!!

Definitely more affordable Lenjo. Thanks. (Since sweet peas are one of my passions I am going to have to splurge on just a few of the more expensive ones!)

The best Sweetpeas I've ever seen were in Ohio! Unfortunately, they hate me. I can't get them to bloom no matter what I do. Problems with morning glories too. Maybe vining annuals hate me???

Wanda, your soil may be too rich for the Morning Glories. They tend to flower better in poor soil, I've read. Don't know about the SPs - just staring with them. Thanks to all for the good advice on this thread - I'm going to run out and pinch mine back!

The point of starting them in autumn is to give them a long, slow growing season during the cold weather. So I would start them now anyway - in a cold frame or with some similar protection. Mine always die off by mid-summer when the temps get into the 80s. :o(

We just got a book all about Sweet Peas - fabulous photos, great information. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0881925950/104-9381749-1982316?v=glance. We heard about it hearing Renee Shepherd (https://www.reneesgarden.com/seeds/seeds-hm/flowersSw.htm) speak all about sweet peas this summer in Southern CA. Fabulous!

I would not soak sweet pea seeds - they rot too easily. Nick the coat, or just leave them as they are. And because they do need the rootspace (as mentioned above), if you're not up to thinning them, plant them 1/pot then plant them out in the spring. They perform much better with root space than without!

:o) Judith

Cleaning up parts of my veggie garden a few weeks ago, some of my sweet peas are up. I planted them close enough to my winter lettuce bed that that same row cover will protect both from the worst of the winter, and I can't wait till next spring!

That is GREAT, Lupine!!

Sweet peas need a certain number of hours of light daily to bloom - different for different types and colors. So they're on their own schedule. But having the root system established prior to spring is important to take the best advantage of those long enough sunny days ...

I definitely lose mine to summer heat by July/August.

:o) Judith