Growing sweet peas is so easy to do and provides fantastic colour and fragrance in the garden and the home.
Now is the time to sow some sweet peas, so here is a post about those beautiful fragrant flowers.
By sowing and growing sweet peas in October or November, you will have bigger plants with a stronger root system that should give earlier flowers next spring.
I also sow and grow some more in February.
The sweet peas will be ready to plant out in April from a sowing in the autumn.
I use peat free potting compost rather than seed compost as the seedlings will be in those pots for several months.
Next, I place the pots to germinate in my greenhouse, Favolosa. However, if you do not have a greenhouse, they will germinate on a windowsill.
Once the first leaves have sprung up, the pots can be placed outside in a cold frame or a protected spot outside.
Growing sweet peas from seed
Growing sweet peas just couldn’t be easier. You can sow them into pots of peat free compost in autumn and overwinter the young plants in a cold frame or cool greenhouse. Or you can wait until spring when you can sow into pots or directly into the ground.
I sow several sweet pea seeds to a pot. Planting the seeds about 1cm deep, covering with the peat free compost and watering them well.
The turbo charged seedlings of sweet peas grow best if their roots are forced to grow in a deep container, so I always choose a tall pot to give them a strong start in life.
Additionally, they hate root disturbance, so I often grow them in tall coir or wood pulp pots which are planted out with the sweet peas in April. Likewise, you can use the inner cardboard of toilet rolls too.
I have added a link below for some suitable 9cm tall wood pulp biodegradable pots.
Sweet pea seedlings
The sweet pea seedlings above were sown in tall pots in mid October. I took this photo one week later so you can see how turbo charged they are.
I will be sowing more in tall wood pulp pots and yet more in other spare tall pots I have once my next sweet pea seeds arrives. Clearly, I need to get my next orders in soon to sow in late October and throughout November.
Once the seedlings have grown to about 10cm tall, I will pinch out the growing tips.
In order to pinch out the tips, take the growing tip between your forefinger and thumbnail and snip the growing tip off with your nail. However, if this is too fiddly, you can use a knife or sharp scissors.
I use sharp scissors as I do not have any suitable nails on my gardening hands!
Primarily, pinching out the tips of sweet peas makes the seedling throw out some side shoots, making the plant bushier. This then gives us more beautiful blooms for cutting so it is always worth doing, I think.
Growing sweet peas in the garden
In April, once your sweet peas are growing well and the main risk of frost has passed, they are ready to be planted out in the garden or into pots.
If the sweet peas have been growing in a greenhouse, like mine, they need to get acclimatized to the great outdoors.
I complete the sweet pea shuffle for about a week in April. This entails taking them out of Favolosa, my greenhouse, and placing the pots outside and bringing them in again at night.
Next, it is time to plant the sweet peas out in a bright sunny spot in the garden. Clearly, this needs to be a place that is easily accessible for all that regular picking of the flowers.
Sweet peas need a rich, moist soil so I always dig some compost into the planting area before I plant to enrich the soil.
Alternatively, you can plant sweet peas out in containers on a patio or balcony. I would use a large container as they are hungry plants.
Climbing supports
Sweet peas are climbers so they will need a sturdy support to clamber up. Canes are fine and I use these in a wigwam shape, tying in the top of the canes together.
It is always best to place your canes or other supports into position in the ground or into the pots before you start planting the seedlings.
If you would rather have an actual frame as a support, there are some options below. Some are metal and others wooden. The one that I like is a 1.5m high rustic pine Pyramid Obelisk.
Once the canes or obelisk supports are in place it is time to plant out the sweet pea seedlings. I usually plant three seedlings together around each cane for the best display of beautiful blooms.
Next, I inspect the plants often as they are turbo charged growers and will need to be tied to the canes or supports as they grow.
Picking sweet pea blooms
Now it is time to pick all those beautiful blooms. From an autumn sowing this should be from May onwards.
Once sweet pea plants are in full flower you will need to pick them as soon as possible to encourage more blooms to be produced.
Additionally, if you miss any flowers and see some seed pods forming, remove these as soon as you can.
I always keep my plants jolly well watered, as dry compost or soil makes sweet peas go to seed quickly.
Once you have picked your sweet pea flowers, get them straight into vases of water. Next, appreciate the beautiful blooms and the heavenly scent wafting around your rooms. Bliss!
Additionally, sweet pea flowers are fantastic for pollinators too. I would always grow them for this reason too.
Fabulous sweet peas are hardy annuals, living for one year and completing the life cycle in the one year. Sowing in autumn gives them a head start for the following year.
Other hardy annuals include cornflowers, calendula, poppies and poached egg plants. I have added links below to some previous posts on other hardy annual flowers you can also grow.
Let’s sow some beautiful hardy annual seeds
Sowing bee beautiful hardy annuals
Sweet pea options
I grow several varieties of sweet peas as I love the different colours and the fabulous fragrances for my home.
I have added links for all the places I get my seeds.
Click here for Thompson and Morgan sweet peas
I have Matucana and Purple Pimpernel so far from Thompson and Morgan. Elegant Ladies has also caught my eye, fantastic pastel shades and a good scent.
And click here for Sarah Raven sweet pea options
I have grown Blue Velvet in the past from Sarah Raven and might well grow this one again. One of the first to flower for me and one of the longest to bloom as well.
Also, Midnight Blues looks like a lovely mix too. Oooooh, and there is Black Knight, crimson black and highly scented. Clearly, I shall be getting my next order in shortly for plenty more sweet pea seeds.
Additionally, I get some sweet pea seeds from Amazon, and have also provided a link below. Just Julia is a variety I grew last year and more have been sown this autumn too. Prince of Orange looks like one for me too!
This blog is a participant in Amazon’s Associate’s Program and also Sarah Raven and Thompson and Morgan. If you click on one of these links above, and make a purchase I may receive a commission, at no additional cost to you.
I hope that you will join me in growing sweet peas and look forward to plenty of beautiful fragrant flowers to pick next year.
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2 responses to “Growing sweet peas, beautiful colours, fantastic fragrance”
This year I ordered ‘Here Come the Girls’. They look lovely and hopefully will smell heavenly too. I usually just direct sow mine in spring and they did really well this year. Like you, I use a deep pot and a cane wigwam. My father-in-law always used to give me bunches in the season as he grew hundreds. It’s nice to be able to do it for myself now that he is no longer with us
Thank you for sharing your experience with growing sweet peas. How lovely you are following a family tradition too. I have just checked out Here Come the Girls. They look fabulous, lovely colours, and sure they will smell heavenly too.