How to grow outstanding sweet peas
Sweet peas make outstanding garden plants. Grow them up a wigwam of pea sticks in a border for colour all summer long, or try growing them in large pots by the house for a scent-filled terrace or patio. With the ideal growing conditions, sweet peas grow strongly and shrug off pests and diseases, so it’s key to get things right from the start. The following tips should keep your sweet peas flowering until the first frosts of autumn
We grow sweet peas in two main areas at Easton Walled Gardens, near the Vegetable Garden and Rose Meadows
Choose the right conditions
Sweet peas love a sunny position sheltered from the wind, in moisture-retentive, free-draining soil with plenty of organic matter such as garden compost. The key to ensuring a long flowering season is to provide consistent conditions. Regular watering and feeding keeps plants healthy and in bloom. Once they get stressed by adverse conditions (such as drought or waterlogging) plants decline quite quickly and are tricky to revitalise. Growing a variety of garden plants and avoiding pesticides will encourage natural predators, such as ladybirds and hoverflies to keep any aphids in check.
Boost your soil fertility
Before planting seedlings out in spring, enrich the ground with organic matter such as well-rotted manure or garden compost, as this provides a steady supply of nutrients to power growth throughout the season. Adding organic matter can also improve drainage, yet also helps the soil retain moisture during drier times in summer. Plants grown in the ground will also benefit from feeing with liquid seaweed feed; you can water it on plant roots or spray onto top growth as a foliar feed.
Providing the right support for sweet peas is essential so that they can climb up a frame
Provide great support
Another key component to successful growing is providing sturdy supports that plants can easily cling to or be trained on as they climb and twine their way upwards. Plants can be left to naturally scramble up and over pea sticks, wire mesh and netting, or on sturdier frames such as metal supports or wigwams made from branches. Alternatively, cordon growing requires tall, straight canes that the main stem of the pea can be tied to as tendrils and side shoots are removed and the leader progresses. Whichever type of support or training method you choose, ensure that structures are well-secured, with plenty of support for the plants to cling onto, and that they are of ample height for the plants to romp away.
Sweet Pea Cupani growing up the supports at Easton needs regular picking to keep them flowering
Keep on picking
Sweet peas are selections of annual Laythrus odoratus, and while there are species which are perennial and live from year-to-year, true sweet peas live just one season and must be sown from seed every year. Left to their own devices, plants flower prolifically to produce masses of seed before they die. By cutting flowers from plants regularly, you stop seed forming, which encourages flowering. The more you cut, the more plants flower, so you need never feel guilty about depriving the garden of blooms for posies and bouquets. Don’t worry however, if you do miss a round of cutting and the seed pods begin to develop – they can be snipped-off to prevent seed forming.
Sweet Pea America growing strongly in a pot at Easton
Try peas in pots
Sweet peas can thrive in containers, but they do require particular care as they are more susceptible to drying out and can easily run short on nutrients. They are however well worth the extra effort to produce moveable displays that are not bound by a garden’s soil conditions.
Use big containers with good drainage that provide plenty of root space, and fill with quality peat-free multipurpose compost. Once the seedlings are growing well, use liquid seaweed feed at fortnightly intervals to keep plants flourishing – you can water it on plant roots or spray onto top growth as a foliar feed.
Try these useful tips to keep your sweet peas flowering right through to the first frosts of autumn.