Growing Sweet Peas - Page 4

How I wish I had read this forum before I sowed my autumn sweet pea.  I seem to have done most of the wrong things as a result of which I have leggy plants which I probably sowed too early and didn't appreciate they didn't need extra warmth to  germinate in the autumn.  My only excuse is that I've never tried autumn sweet pea before and I that only joined the Gardner's World site last week.  I hope to do better next year!

Warburton Pike wrote (see)

How I wish I had read this forum before I sowed my autumn sweet pea.  I seem to have done most of the wrong things as a result of which I have leggy plants which I probably sowed too early and didn't appreciate they didn't need extra warmth to  germinate in the autumn.  My only excuse is that I've never tried autumn sweet pea before and I that only joined the Gardner's World site last week.  I hope to do better next year!

Oh what a shame!  I do try to encourage people not to coddle them.

Perhaps all may not be lost, if you nip out the growing tips & we get some cold weather to steady their growth, they may be OK.

Thanks for the advice David I will try that and hope for some cold weather.

David K wrote (see)

Yes, just leave them in your plastic mini-greenhouse, they are perfectly hardy and don't need any form of heat.

 

thanks  

I saved my own seed as I had a sweet pea from a mixed pack with a lovely deep purple colour. They have now germinated, I sowed later, and only found this thread today. 2 questions - will the sweet peas come true to colour

- I also saved some hanging basket sweet pea seeds, no sign of germination are these likely to be F1 or have I not saved seeds correctly.

Will sow some in spring any way.

Really informative thread

Hi, Bjay.

Just a couple of points. Because of cross pollination, your mixed sweet peas may not necessarily reproduce true to type, but should still give a worthwhile display. It may also be worth noting that deep purple  sweet peas have a stronger scent than the paler colours....this is because they are closer related to the original sweet peas.

There isn't any difference in the procedure for saving seed from F1 hybrids. Hanging basket sweet peas don't lend themselves to autumn sowing...much better to sow the seed directly into the baskets in the spring.

Hope this helps. 

David. You really are such a help to everyone

Bev Pounsett-Krynauw wrote (see)

David. You really are such a help to everyone

Thank you, Bev. It's no problem, but nice to be appreciated by people such as yourself.

I am growing dwarf sweet peas from seed this autumn using root trainers to get a better root system established. They were sown in September using an electric propagator at 15 deg C and after about 14 days most of them germinated. They were then moved into a colder mini greenhouse where they have remained since including one or two nights at freezing temperatures. I will keep them there overwinter and not pinch out the leading tip - just let the natural cold temperature growth develop the side shoots until next spring before planting out. 

I didn't manage to sow my sweet peas as planned a few weeks ago as my father was rushed into hospital and all sorts of thingsin the garden had to take a back seat.  Fortunately he's made a good recovery so now I can concentrate on other things for a bit.

So my question is, should I sow them now or wait until early spring?  I have a coldframe they can overwinter in.

Hi, Dove. First of all let me say that I'm pleased to hear your father is now feeling better.

Regarding those sweet peas....yes, there is still time to sow the seed, although they will now need a little help to germinate. I've used my unheated spare bedroom in the past, but remember to put them into a coldframe or cold greenhouse immediately the first few have surfaced.

Hi David, really enjoyed reading this thread as I really like sweet peas, have you any advice on everlasting sweet peas please ? I have some  fresh seeds which were given to me and wondered if they would come true from seed and when to plant them.

Regards Norm 

Hi, Norm...sorry to appear a bit thick, but I'm not sure what is the basis for doubting whether or nor they would grow true to type, especially as you refer to them as 'fresh' seed.

Having said that (although I don't grow them) I can say that they have a purpose in the garden for covering say garage walls or unsightly fences. The only maintenance required is to cut them back to ground height in the spring...of course, they don't have any scent, which is a priority for me when contemplating growing SPs.

Hi David, sorry it's me that's a bit thick, please forgive me, I know that they are fresh as my sister gave them to me having picked them from her own plant about 3 weeks ago.

I asked about true to type as I read earlier on in your responses that sweet peas can be cross pollinated and I know she had standard type sweet peas growing nearby.

Thanks for the info regarding them not being scented I didn't know that,

regards Norm

Hi, David...I wasn't going to sow sweet pea this autumn only because there wasn't  room to plant out in Spring those which were sown last autumn and they became a tangled mess... but had seeds left over, so, sowed some early October time which seems the best time here, thought they may have been sown to early...

...but they are a nice size, about 3 to 4 inches. Pinched the tops off some to stop them growing and apart from that no TLC or mollycoddling... you would be proud...

I only get to see them at weekends but looking good at present  

No prob, Norm  Yes, see above info re them growing true to type & remember they are quite robust in growth habit.

Hi, Zoomer....the weather is forecast to turn colder in the next few days, so that bodes well for growing strong stocky plants; hope no-one gets any ideas of bringing them indoors or using heat!

Thank you David - I'll sow them this weekend and keep them on a windowsill in the sitting room until I see signs of life then they'll go out into the coldframe.  

Pinching out at how many leaves?

"Pinching out at how many leaves?"

Two or three pairs.