How to sow sweet pea seeds

Train them up a trellis, pergola or obelisk, or support them with canes in large pots. They bring height and colour to borders and their scented blooms can be used as cut flowers.

Sweet peas dislike root disturbance so grow them in cardboard tubes, growing tubes or coir pots. This will enable you to plant them out in their containers without damaging the roots.

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Follow these easy steps to grow beautiful and fragrant sweet peas from seed.

You Will Need

• Sweet pea seeds
• Seed compost
• Cardboard tubes

Step 1

Sow seeds individually into seed compost. Water well and place on a sunny windowsill or in a greenhouse or heated propagator.

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Step 2

Water the sweet peas regularly. As they grow, you'll notice roots start to emerge through the sides of the cardboard tubes.

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Step 3

Pinch out the growing point when seedlings have two-three pairs of leaves, to encourage bushy growth. Harden the plants off before planting out.
See our guide to 10 of the best garden cold frames to protect your young plants from the cold.

Sweet peas are climbing plants and need structures to grow up. Use wires, netting or twine to tie in stems to their supports.