How to grow Sweet Peas

Sweet Peas are stunningly beautiful yet delicate flowers, some of which carry a gorgeous scent. I have been growing them for a number of years, and this is what works for me. 

  There a number of different ways to grow them and different times of year that you can sow them. Depending on what you are growing them for, whether it is for cut flowers in the house, or for exhibition, will determine when you sow them.

I tend to sow my Sweet Pea seeds in JANUARY now as our Winters are milder.

I sow mine in seed trays of multi purpose compost, covering with quarter inch of compost, and then giving a really good soak. 

After around a week to ten days you will see the seeds begin to germinate. 

Once they are about an inch tall I prick them out into individual growing tubes or deep pots. I use multi purpose compost adding some Perlite for drainage. About a third Perlite to two thirds compost. These are then put into the polytunnel which is unheated. Somewhere sheltered, but cold, to grow on ready for planting. 

After a few weeks the young plants will have produced two pairs of leaves. At this point I remove the growing tip from each plant. This will encourage strong side shoots from the lower leaf joints. For a reason, unknown to me, the flowers that are produced from these side shoots are far better than from the main growing stem.

After a few more weeks you will see the new side shoots appear. 

I prepare the plot they are going to be planted in by rotovating the ground at the end of February. I then add a sprinkling of chicken manure and apply a light amount of fish, blood and bone, not too much as it’s quite strong stuff. 

Once the plot is ready and the plants are looking strong and healthy it is time to plant them out. This can be done anytime between March and May depending on the weather. When they are all planted I water them in well. 

As my flowers are used for Showing and Competition, around two weeks after planting I check every plant and select the strongest side shoot to maximise the energy to one stem. The remainder of the side shoots are removed using a sharp pair of scissors. After each variety I clean the scissors in a weak bleach solution to minimise the risk of spreading any disease between the varieties.

 The plants will be slow to get growing at first but once they start they will grow rapidly and will need tying up on a weekly basis. As the plants grow you will see numerous new side shoots from each leaf joint. These must be removed and can usually just be rubbed out with your thumb. You will also see thin, curly tendrils growing from the ends of the leaves. Naturally, these would attach themselves to the support, but to get strong stems and lots of flowers these should be cut off. Again, a sharp pair of scissors will be perfect for the job.

If you are growing for the garden, and cut flower for indoors, let the plant grow up against some support, and tie up if needed. 

Once the plants reach around 3 ft high you will begin to see flower buds forming at the top of the stem. However, do not worry if these fall off before the stem matures as it is likely that we will still be experiencing cold nights. Sweet Peas are very delicate and if the night time temperature drops below around 8 degrees centigrade then the buds will not form correctly and will fall off leaving nothing but bare stems. This is a natural occurrence, so don't worry.

Before long you will be blessed with an abundance of flowers on long stems.

In order to keep the plants flowering you must pick the flowers regularly, in the same way that you pick runner beans. 

Sweet Peas don’t like to be too wet, but in a dry spell they will need watering and feeding. I generally, use a balanced feed, like Miracle Grow when the plant is green. When they start to flower I use a tomatoe feed, like Tomorite. Every other watering, not all the time. 

Later in the season you might find them suffering from leaf scorch which is thought to be caused by a magnesium deficiency, this can be helped with a dose of Epsom Salts.

I hope some of these tips help you produce wonderful flowers, with a beautiful scent, for your garden and home

For more tips on how to grow for Showing and Competing please go to my 

'How to Show' page.