Sweet peas love an alkaline soil (7-8 pH is perfect) so also apply lime or dolomite to raise the alkalinity of your soil. Taller varieties will need some kind of support (eg trellis or wire) as they grow and it’s best to install that at planting time.
What type of soil is best for sweet peas?
Soil should be rich, deep, loamy, moist, and well drained. Sweet Peas grow best in slightly alkaline soil with a pH of 7.0–7.5.
Where is the best place to grow sweet peas?
bright sunny spot
Plant your sweet peas out in a bright sunny spot in the garden that’s easily accessible for regular picking. Sweet peas love a rich, moist soil so dig a couple of buckets of compost into the planting area beforehand to enrich the soil and hold moisture during dry weather.
What is the best month to plant sweet peas?
If you garden in mild winter climates (Zones 8, 9, or 10), plant sweet peas in the late fall (November) so they can develop and bloom in late winter and early spring. To get the best display, dig a trench and fill it with well-rotted manure or compost 6 weeks before you sow the seeds.
Can you use ericaceous compost for sweet peas?
Ericaceous compost is too acidic for sweet peas to grow. Sweet peas prefer neutral or slightly alkaline soil, but ericaceous compost attacks the roots of sweet peas, eventually killing them. The most acidic soil that sweet peas can take is 5.8, but ericaceous compost is often as low as 4.0 or 5.0.
Can sweet peas grow in pots?
Sweet Peas grow beautifully in pots and containers. All they need are great soil, sunshine, water and something to climb. Then sit back and wait for your beautifully scented sweet peas to grow and flourish.
Do sweet peas need a trellis?
Because Sweet Peas are vining, they need support to grow up and flower. Many types of structures can work such as a trellis, supports with mesh or twine, or fences. They need a structure that is well anchored in the ground to support the weight of the vines.
Do sweet peas come back every year?
Sweet peas (Lathyrus odoratus) only live for a year, dying after setting seed. But don’t let this put you off as they are super easy to grow from seed. Perennial species such as Lathyrus latifolius come back year after year, but mostly lack fragrance and there are fewer to choose from.
What do you feed sweet peas?
Start feeding sweet peas with a high potash fertiliser (such as tomato food) when flower buds appear. Regular picking encourages more flowers to form, so keep picking those blooms for the vase.
How deep do sweet pea roots grow?
2-3cms deep. General purpose compost can be used as a growing medium but better results can be obtained by using a 50/50 mixture of good garden soil and general purpose compost, with 10% of the volume made up with well-rotted manure, at least 3 years old.
How deep do you plant sweet peas?
It is important to bury your seeds at the proper depth (1 in. for sweet peas) so make sure your furrow is 1 inch deep. 3. To sow your seeds, drop them into your furrow 2-3 inches apart.
How tall do sweet peas get before they flower?
The plants reach 3 to 8 feet tall and a spread of 2 to 3 feet. The Missouri Botanical Garden reports that without something to climb, sweet peas grow into low and bushy 2 1/2-foot-tall mounds. Perennial sweet peas have a similar growth pattern, with vines growing up to 10 feet tall.
Is blood and bone good for sweet peas?
They also like plenty of nitrogen for growth and potash for flowers. Dig the ground over and if possible dig out a trench or a flat bottomed hole to a depth of 45cm (18”) or so and fill with a layer of compost with fish, blood and bone mixed in or well-rotted manure.
Is bone meal good for sweet peas?
Sweet pea plants are heavy feeders, and sprinkling bone meal, blood meal, or even a commercial fertilizer like 12-24-12 some 6 to 12 inches from the base of the plants through the winter will be important to keep them growing actively.
Is Tomorite good for sweet peas?
Feed your Sweet Peas every two weeks. Once buds appear, switch to a high-potash feed such as Tomorite.
Do sweet peas need a lot of water?
Once planted, if the summer is dry, they need regular watering as Sweet peas dislike being dry when they are prone to mildew. To keep the flowering, it is necessary to remove all the seed heads.
Can sweet peas be grown in hanging baskets?
Patio sweet peas work well when grown in containers and hanging baskets without other plants to create a delightful and eyecatchihg display. Alternatively, they can be grown with other plants where they will wind their way up the stems to create spectacular effects.
Do slugs eat sweet peas?
Slugs can make a meal of a wide range of vegetables and ornamental plants, especially seedlings and other soft growth. Hostas, delphiniums, dahlias, gerberas, sweet peas and tulips are regularly attacked by slugs, and it can be difficult to grow these plants if you have a big slug problem.
How tall should sweet pea Canes be?
6 feet tall
The canes need to be at least 6 feet tall. Make sure you tie the first shorts to the netting to start them climbing. After planting it is a good idea to give plants a light dressing of slug bait.
How many flowers do you get from a sweet pea plant?
At that time, sweet peas grew only three to four feet high and had just two flowers per stem. Today, multiflora types can have up to 11 flowers, or more commonly 4 to 8 flowers on a stem. Colors have been improved by breeders.
How long do sweet peas live?
With these simple tips, you should hopefully be able to keep the flowers coming for for up to 6-8 weeks.