I stink at growing seeds, but I'm going to try these again. I'm curious to know if anyone has grown 'Snoopea' and if it's as fragrant as the rest.
For those of you wanting a chance at some more seed, here's a heck of a sale--of course I'm only getting fragrance, lol, at these prices, I can afford it. http://www.valueseeds.com/?page=1
Here's a pretty good article I just came across on Sweet Peas. http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/newsletters/hortupdate/mar05/Sweetpea.html
Sweet Peas Anyone?
Violabird,
I have grown the 'Snoopea'. It isn't as fragrant as like the 'Old Spice'.
I love the sweet peas. I finally grew them last year and loved the colors and fragrant.
Tho, you know, the red blooms didn't have any smell, only the pink, purple/violet, andwhite (faint) did. Of course, which one had the most seed of, red. The other colors not as prolific.
Isn't it too hot where you are for sweet peas?
Mine get planted on the east side of a fence and just love it there with morn/early afternoon sun and then shade from 3 pm onward.
I will have to look up your article later.
Thanks for listing it.
Carol
VB,
Visited the value seeds site not too long ago and got carried away and spent around $30.00. LOL
Haven't even had time to really go through everything, but if I remember right I bought a bunch of sweet peas, so really appreciate the article since I've never grown them before. I printed the article and am anxious to get some started!
Sharon
Violabird,
I have such wonderful memories of vases of sweetpeas in my bedroom when I visit my English relatives.
Sweetpeas like it cool, and here I start them on St Patty's Day, like Daisyruffles on the east side of an arch. Cupani's Original tolerates the heat the best for me and I think it smells heavenly. Sorry but I'm new and don't know how to link pictures yet. I buy my seed from Select Seeds and I'm sure there's a pic on their site.
I just looked up the article and the valueseeds. What a good article and what a good deal on the seeds. I would love to try all of them, hehe. But maybe next year I will. I still have some seed that I collected this past fall and hope to plant them in Feb.
Carol
I have tried growing these several times- sowing them in Jan or Feb. They come up, vine nicely and just start blooming when the heat gets them. Not much time to really enjoy them. I have heard/read that 'Old Spice' is supposed to be very heat-tolerant and very fragrant. I would like to try those if that's the case.
Anyone had experience with this particular strain?
I cleaned out Value seeds on Sweet peas last month I got every variety they offered. I cant wait to plant them! Like BG mine get zapped by the heat but I get about cupple good months out of them. Last year I just threw them in a bed with some mixed poppy seeds. Mostly reds and the combo was beautiful. Sorry no pics. :( both fizzled about the same time so I pulled everything out in time to throw down Orange and yellow marigold seed for Halloween.
I love my fragrants but I also love color!
I have heard for down south that you are to sow them like in Oct. or Nov. so they can grow and bloom earlier. So you may try this next year maybe?
Carol
We can get a occasional freeze so it would be a gamble.
I love Sweet Peas. I usually buy about 10 packets and get about 10 or 15 good vines. I will definitely be buying from Value from now on, instead of spending 3 or 4 bucks at Thompson and Morgan! I have tried chipping, soaking, sowing outside, and growing inside. Last year was the best year, with some sprouting as late as July! Unfortunately, I had a lot of vines, but two Nor'easters in May did my pinching back for me! They didn't bloom till late June.
My favorites are the old varieties, like Matucana and Cupani. They have wonderful fragrance and seem tougher.
I have tried for three or four years to get Chatsworth, King Size Navy Blue, or North Shore to grow, but have had no luck. Last year, an entire tray of Cream Southbourne and another tray of Anthea Turner didn't even germinate.
I'm gonna try them in my back garden this year, which is east facing, shaded in the afternoon. The soil is slightly deeper there as well, so maybe I'll have better luck.
Ivy, year before last I grew sweetpeas (my only time). I actually had a great germination rate. I did them two ways. The first was to mix hydrogen peroxide with water (pretty strong). I used a sandwich sized zip lock baggie and put a folded up paper towel inside. I added the water mix until it was good and wet, but not too much. (I know, clear as mud.) Then I just put the seeds on the towel. In about a week most of them had sprouted.
The second way was to get the $1 store sponges (10 for $1) and cut them into cubes. I then cut a slit into the top of each and inserted a seed. The sponges went into a plastic bowl with the water mix dumped in the bottom. These germinated even sooner than the ones on the paper towel. You just plant the spong in the ground, seed and all, and don't have to worry about breaking off the roots or leaves.
Carmen
Carmen, that's great info!
I bet that sponge method would work well. I used peat pots for most of my indoor germination, and lost a few seedlings when ripping the pot off. I ripped the pot off because I had been told that the roots can't actually grow through the sides, although that is what they are supposed to do.
The sponge probably helps keep the roots damp in the soil as well, at least until it biodegrades. Great tip! I'll definitely try it this year.
One question: when do you sow your seeds? I usually sow mine in February or March, but I bet it's too warm by then in Georgia!
It's time to sow ours now. Feb. is a bit late.
Carmen, you're briliant! Thanks for the tip, watching for the mail (darn holidays!)
Carmen, How big do you cut the sponges? About the size of a 2 or 3 inch pot? Smaller?
I just cut them into inch, inch and a half cubes. They don't need to be much bigger since they just hold one seed each.
Do you plant them out as soon as they sprout?
Carmen, a crazy question. But why can't you just cut the sponges into strips of like an inch wide but as long as the sponge is, and then plant the seeds like an inch apart in the strips?
Am curious on why you cut up into separate blocks? To me, it seems easier to plant the strips of sponges then.
?
Carol
You can plant them that way. I just cut them into inches because I can get more seeds into the inch cubes and can then spread them around. It doesn't matter to the seeds at all. lol
Ivy, I didn plant them as soon as I saw about an inch of roots. I wanted to disturb them as little as possible, and I'm forever breaking off the tender shoots because I bury them a bit into the ground. But, that's just me.
I break mine all the time, too. Seems like no matter what they are planted in, a few are going to experience shock and will die off.
I'm going to try the sponge method this year, and also sowing outdoors in the deeper bed in the backyard. I bet I will have better luck this year. They are so worth the effort. I can almost smell that heavenly scent now!