Sweet Peas are another one of my favorite flowers! I love the gorgeous old-fashioned vines with their frilly, butterfly-like blooms. They just look like they should be planted at a cottage or grandma’s house, but they will also add a nostalgic charm to your yard.
Sweet peas come in almost every color, except true yellow. Most of mine are white and pink, but they do come in red to lavender to blues, some are streaked and flecked. Butterflies and bees are attracted to them.
Sweet Peas should be planted in full sun in garden soil that is rich in organic matter. Vines thrive best on a trellis that the tendrils can wrap around as they climb. Some will trail six to nine feet, but there are shorter varieties that are only eight to 20 inches tall. I think I need to get a taller trellis next year!
Sweet Peas are need to be fertilized throughout the growing season. Deadheading encourages a longer season of blooms.
In the past, I have had trouble getting the Sweet Peas to grow from seed in our garden. Then I read that Sweet Peas needed to be planted in cool weather. They require about 50 days of temperatures 60 degrees to bloom well. I planted them in early spring this year and they are just now blooming. I also cheated and bought some plants at the local greenhouse and they started blooming a couple of weeks before the seeds that I planted.
You can start them indoors, but I just planted the seed directly in the garden. Before planting soak the seeds in lukewarm water for 1-3 hours, then plant immediately one to two inches deep. Some resources say that it helps to make a small nick in the seed with a knife or metal file, to allow the seed to absorb the water more easily. To encourage reseeding, let some of the seed pods develop to self-seed. (I picked a few perennial geraniums to place on top of the trellis to add a pop of purple color.)
The Sweet Peas are great cutting flowers! Make a fragrant, romantic bouquet with your Sweet Peas. The blossoms usually last about 5-7 days in a vase. Harvest the Sweet Peas when fully open, they will not continue to open after cutting. A bouquet of Sweet Peas fills the room with their fragrance.
Enjoy this old-fashioned fragrant flower!
Resources:
Vegetables Love Flowers and Cool Flowers by Lisa Mason Ziegler
