Lathyrus Species, Sweet Pea

Sweet peas grow like crazy in my yard. They're nice, because the bloom after everything else is done, and bloom for a long period of tim...Read Moree.

The thing I don't like about them is they're non edible, however, I'm sure I've eaten some when I was a kid, and my dad said he remembers eating "wild" peas when he was younger too.
Also, they're a pain because they keep trying to climb my raspberry plants, and some of my other trees. Seems like every few days I have to go and try to pull the things out of the ground because they pop up like crazy.

For a few years I've been trying to grow this plant with little luck.... finally this year i started with better seed from a better deale...Read Morer and started a small tripod and a row a long a little fence. Now the ones on the little fence i thought would do a lot better. It gets full sun but less water then the tripod, and i think the lack of water might have been the down fall... but still you can see little buds forming on it that may bloom. My tripod has had a better luck and has just began flowering today. I will take the time to collect seed for next year and I will post a pic when I start getting more blooms. My only advise is to get the best seed you can get.

grows wild here. self seeds. its tells me when summer is really here. i love it!

Planted seeds last oct. but was unable to find inoculant. Bought some earthworm castings and dug it in the trench...the vines are 8 feet ...Read Moretall and beautiful. Pick a couple of huge bunches a day. We had a very mild winter so they are doing well.

My sweet pea is indoors here in VA. I grow her in my apartment. She is doing ok, but I think I under watered her and she began to shrivel...Read More. I am still working with her and praying she makes it. Hopefully she will bloom as beautiful as the pictures I see here.

I've had very good luck with this plant, both with commercial seed packets and with seeds harvested from the plants. I have grown them in...Read More trays, then transplanted the seedlings, and I've direct sown into the ground. In any grouping, I always get several that form very thick vines and climb up to 6-8 ft, and many that that form much thinner, more delicate, vines that climb up to 5-6 feet. All produce large amounts of flowers, very fragrant. I give them a weak solution of general plant food about once a month.

We grow sweet peas here in Florida when the weather is cooler, from late fall through early spring. The scent of the flowers is probably...Read More my favorite scent of all time! Very frost hardy!

If only there was some way we could hybridize the sugar snap or English pea with the sweet pea, to produce a plant with sweet smelling blossoms and edible non-toxic pods.

I haven't had much luck with sweet peas...yet. I haven't had the conditions they prefer. My rich, cool soil is in a shady part of the g...Read Morearden, and the sunny part of the garden has heavy clay soil and rocks.

In TX this is considered a cool-season annual, which means we have to plant it in the fall to enjoy it just as winter breaks. I tried it ...Read Morefor the first time this past season, in two locations - a sunny to part shade area, and a full sun area. It grew in both locations, but was overwhelmingly better in the full sun, almost over-taking the two trellises I had it trained on. The blooms were beautiful, and the fragrance incredible! What a joy it was while I worked in the garden, getting it set for the summer, amid constant waves of the fragrance. We had a much extended spring this year, so they looked good through the end of April (longer than I'm told is usual, as they don't like hot days.) I will plant these again next year. (They are nice to cover the trellises while the summer vines have died back.)

These vines do not like hot and windy sites. I had them in a container on my south-facing patio. They grew for a while but then dried o...Read Moreut at the bottom and broke off from their roots... they died within days. My parents have grown them successfully, but they had the benefit of a yard sheltered by tall trees.

Here in zone 5, I sow sweet peas in late fall (early November). This allows the seeds to begin the germination process, but they don't p...Read Moreut on any top growth until the following spring. So they get a jump start on the growing season, resulting in larger, earlier plants with more flowers (before the hot summer weather arrives).

Seeds can also be sown in early spring, after soaking for 24 hours. By sowing in both spring and fall, I can extend the sweet pea season into late summer.

Ahh..my favorite flower! Hopflower, you are a BOUNTY of information for this plant! Butterflydust, I believe your problem may lay in wh...Read Moreere you are located. As with any plant, we gardners have to adjust how we care for a given plant based on soil type, humidity, temperature,...etc. Hopflower spoke of fertilizing in the summer........my sweetpeas are long gone by then! Where I live (central CA)I plant my sweet peas in the fall against a south-facing wall or fence...they grow slowly through the winter to burst like mad in early spring (tons of flowers for Easter!) but as soon as it gets hot they are done (May-June). My Grandfather had an amazing 'secret' for growing his sweet peas that works wonderfully here.....dig a 24" deep x 8" wide (x as long as your space or trellis or support) trench where the plants are to be grown. Layer the trench to fill by alternating native soil amended with leaf mold and/or mulch, thin layer of manure, soil/mulch, manure, on and on until you reach 3" below the edge of the trench. Plant sprouted seeds and cover with soil/mulch mix (do not place sprouted seed on a manure layer!). Cover with snail bait (I like the 'sawdust' type that also kills insects, great coverage....dead bodies everywhere!) Water. As the plants grow, fill in around the stem with amended soil mix much like you may do with tomatoes. I get buckets of flowers that, as Hopflower said, must be picked every to every other day. Too many flowers? No problem! I've 'trained' the neighbor kids....anytime they see milk cartons filled with flowers sitting on the picket fence.....they are to take them home to their Moms! Everybody is happy! Try contacting your local University Cooperative Extension Agent to find out more about growing sweet peas where you live Butterflydust. The Cooperative Extension Agents are incredibly helpful and knowledgable about growing local plants. Good luck this year...don't give up!

I have problems with growing them anywhere in my yard. I had them lightly tied to a trelis in full sun, partial shade, full shade. They d...Read Moreid much better in full sun, but still developed a powdery grey fungus all over no matter how much care I took to not get them wet. I love the plant and flowers so much, but I'm just not doing something right. Would like some much needed suggestions so I can give this plant another try.

I raise sweet peas almost exclusively. The seeds are indeed toxic, as is the whole plant if eaten in any quantity. The word lathyrus in p...Read Moreart comes from the Greek for "excite", and there is a condition known as lathyrism, which causes nervous system excitement if they are ingested. This is helpful to know if you have small children around, who may confuse them with edible peas.

They are a wonderful flower. They come in all sorts of colours ranging from white and cream to deepest purple; with pink, rose, orange, scarlet, blue, lavender and picotees in between. There are also some striped and variegated varieties. The only colours that are not available are yellow and a true, gentian type blue. Like a lot of flowers, their blues are somewhat tinged with violet or lavender.

Sweet peas are easy to grow and should not be coddled. They are actually a very tough plant if started correctly. They should be germinated at a temperature of about 65-70 degrees; either by soaking the seed for 24 hours beforehand, and then planting in sterile soil mix, or sprouting them in a shallow pie plate wrapped up in a wet cloth, or covered in plastic film. Alternately, you can also soak the seed and wrap them in a damp cloth and place in a Ziploc bag for about a week, then check to see they have sprouted. After that, they should be planted immediately; either in pots or in the garden bed. Do not use peat pots unless you are sowing in springtime; they will deteriorate through the winter. Sweet peas sown in plastic or terra cotta pots should be put outside as soon as they push through the soil. The introduction of sunlight and fresh air at this stage is a very important part of acclimatizing them and keeping them robust; thus getting a stronger plant. The seedlings can take a mild frost if started and hardened off soon enough. The only precaution is to use common sense in the case of a storm: either wind or snow; and remove them to safety if these are the case. Keep the plants moist but not sopping wet, and shelter from strong wind. Pinching out the tips when about 4-6 inches high will help them to bush out, becoming more sturdy and allowing a good leader to grow on; should you decide to cordon them. Slug and snail bait is necessary: the snails will go after seedlings as soon as they appear. Take care not to let them get eaten. Pinching off the tendrils and the axial leaves will also help them to produce a larger flower, but then soft ties should be provided to support the vines as they develop. A minimum of one inch of water per week is recommended, unless the summer is particularly hot; they must not be allowed to dry out. Fertilizing is not necessary until after the first flowering; and then use only manure tea, or fish fertilizer of some sort such as one of the newer kelp-based products. Maxsea or Maxicrop are good ones. It is generally recommended to fertilize in the middle of the growing season; say July.

Like pansies, sweet peas love being picked: the more you pick, the more you get! If you do not pick them, they will go to seed and not produce anymore flowers. Be sure to harvest them at least every other day, bringing vase fulls of flowers into the house!

From the Successful Gardening book...."The sweet pea likes coolness, but needs some direct sunlight. Wind can damage the fragile tendril...Read Mores. These plants do well in rich, loamy soils. They prefer a moist, but not wet environment. Do not over fertilize. It may need some pampering until it gets established."