sweet pea Archives - Plant Talk

Planting Sweet Peas

Posted in Gardening Tips on March 15 2011, by Sonia Uyterhoeven

Sonia Uyterhoeven is Gardener for Public Education.

A month ago we discussed the history of the sweet pea (Lathyrus odoratus) with the focus on uncovering which sweet peas will grow well in the short springs and the warm summers in the New York Area. Some varieties are definitely more heat tolerant than others and the new day neutral varieties such as ‘Winter Elegance’ and ‘Velvet Elegance’ flower up to 2 weeks earlier than older varieties.

So what are the basics for getting your sweet peas in the ground and growing? If you live in a cool climate and would like to get an early start then you can plant them indoors 6-7 weeks before the last frost date. If you would like to wait and direct sow then wait until a month or so before the last frost date. In the New York area you will be sowing them outdoors somewhere between the beginning and middle of April.

Sweet peas will germinate faster if you either nick the seed coat or soak them for several hours in lukewarm water. Sweet peas like to be planted in full sun although if you live in a place where the summers get hot quickly you can try morning sun and bright afternoon shade.

You will improve growth is you amend the soil ahead of time with either compost or aged cow manure. Sweet peas prefer good drainage. Plant your seeds one inch deep and space them 2-3 inches apart. Once they begin to grow, thin them out to 5-6 inches.

You will encourage lateral branches and get a fuller plant if you pinch your sweet peas back when there are 3-4 sets of leaves. Pinch back to 2-3 sets of leaves just above the leaf node.

Young seedlings are in danger of being eaten by slugs, snails and birds. Cover the young plants with bird netting and used your favorite slug repellent when the seedlings are young and tender.

Mulching and keeping your sweet peas well watered will improve their growth. Once they start to produce flowers make sure you pick them on a regular basis to promote more blooms.

Smaller dwarf varieties such as ‘Pink Cupid’ can stand on their own, but most sweet peas need vertical support to thrive. Remember that sweet peas have tendrils that like to cling to and wrap around supports. Galvanized wire cages make easy supports. Bamboo trellises or teepees also provide good places for peas to climb.

Sweet peas are not related to edible peas – they are poisonous and should not be eaten. They make wonderful cut flowers and their fragrance is one of the nicer fragrances that you will find in the spring.

Sweet Peas

Posted in Gardening Tips on February 15 2011, by Plant Talk

Most of us love sweet peas. The problem is that they are outrageously expensive at the florist, quite expensive at the farmer’s markets and while they are not difficult to grow it is always a challenge to get the timing right so that they are blooming profusely before the heat of the summer knocks them back.

If we travel back in time and look at the history we may acquire a better understanding of the flower and be able to make informed decisions when we choose a cultivar to grow in our gardens.

There are species sweet peas that are fabulous but do not have the multitude of frilly flowers that modern cultivars possess. There are also ‘Old-fashioned Types’. These are the sweet peas that have been on record since 1800 but are generally dated back to the 1700’s.

You will recognize a few of these from seed catalogs – Lathyrus odoratus ‘Cupani’s Original’ and ‘Painted Lady’ are two. These sweet peas have a wonderful fragrance and while the flowers are a little smaller than subsequent introductions their persistence on the market is a testament to their success. They tend to flower on the early side for sweet peas and are reasonably heat tolerant.

In the 1880’s a British gardener named Henry Eckford transformed the sweet pea into one of the most sought after blooms in Britain. He produced what we know as the Grandifloras. These hybrids, as the name suggests, produced a much larger flower, came in a multitude of colors and had a wonderful fragrance. Many of these cultivars can still be found on the market such as ‘Jewel of Albion’, ‘Queen of the Night’, ‘Miss Willmott’ and ‘Perfume Delight’.