@REMF33 Congratulations! One of my flower bud is at that stage too but there’s no fragrance yet.. I am sure the heatwave today and tomorrow will expedite the process.. can’t wait to smell my first sweet pea bloom of the season
@Fairygirl Yes.. I think I’ve overdone it in that pot too.. when I first planted them out in that pot it looked just right but the side shooting went mad over time lol! I’ve been fertilising with high potash chempak twice a week currently.. maybe I should increase that to every other day given it’s so hot this week. Also, watering/fertilising has become a tricky task as it’s hard to get the nozzle into the centre.. and pouring from the top won’t work as it will just bounce off the leaves and splatter everywhere..
@celcius_kkw with the sun this week and some watering, those will be flowering before the end of this week I think...
Incidentally did anyone catch Monty's advice last week to cut off ALL the flowering stems of sweet peas, and not just dead head? It seems counter intuitive to me, does sacrificing current decent flowers that haven't gone over really give such a great second flush that it's worth it??? Anyone do it?
I wouldn't feed that much to be honest. Plenty of water I use slow release food in my pots, and then a tomato feed every so often later in the year - from about end of July. My pots have turf in the bottom to help retain water too. Despite our regular rainfall here, the foliage prevents the pots getting as much water into them as they often need. When there's a lot of top growth to support, they need a lot of water.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Mine doesn't have a strong scent either. ccording to Sarah Raven it should be a 9 out of ten. There are plenty of other varieties in my pots though. I am looking forward to the Matucana flowering, assuming it does. Strong scent and just beautiful colours. Feeding every day seems quite a lot... Can't remember if I put slow release in or not, bu they are just getting a weekly feed (er, if I remember. Which reminds me, today is designated feeding day (as was yesterday, and the day before and...) I really should get on top of this. It seems to take almost a whole bottle of liquid tomato food to feed everything that needs feeding I guess granular is more economical?
Ideally - well rotted manure into the planting holes, or the base of a pot is the best start. I use some slow release stuff, and the tomato food is just an additional extra as they need some help once they start producing flowers. Deadheading is vital to prolong the display too. It's a waste of energy for the plant to produce seed, when it can be producing more buds. It's the plant's sole aim is to try and reproduce, and what we're doing is trying to prevent that as we want more flowers
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
@strelitzia32 No I haven’t watched last Friday’s gardeners world episode yet.. I was working last weekend so I’ve saved it my week off this week. It’s so relaxing to watch it on a day off.
@Fairygirl Which slow release granular feed do you use? I read that sweet peas mustn’t be provided with too much nitrogen as it would reduce flowering.. I haven’t come across any high potassium granular feed so far.. most of them have equal NPK ratio which I gather is too much nitrogen for sweet peas?
@R@REMF33 I got my seeds from Sarah Raven too! I have three varieties and all of them are meant to be strongly fragrant (as I am very perfume driven) - I have Matucana too (which is at the same stage as your picture), hi-scent and Prince Edward of York.
I usually have some of that Miracle Gro stuff kicking around. It's the only thing I use it for. Just the general one - not specific to any plant, like roses or rhodies etc. I only add a couple of spoonfuls to a large pot. If I don't have it, I only use tomato food, and I would use that weekly once the plants are established and growing well. It's not necessary before that, as the compost gives them enough. Good quality compost is important too when they're in pots
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
@celcius_kkw I have Mrs Collier, Edward VII, Matacuna, Blue Velvet, Solway Serenade, Anniversary, Almost Black and Venetian Mix. I think so far I've had at least one of each except for Mrs Collier. I sowed them in biodegradable root trainers and labelled each one, then managed to knock over the whole lot so the labels got jumbled. I hope you are getting some flowers now. Mine are not prolific but am able to pick a small posey every other day and keep it at my side. (Mainly Solway Sereneade, I think.) Definitely to be filed under 'improves quality of life' I am wondering how to do it better next year though. Start the later? (Buy a greenhouse?!)
The thing is - you can't alter your climate @REMF33 You can start them undercover, but it depends on your conditions and climate as to the results once they go outside. We don't normally have enough warmth in April and May to get them going, so this year was quite a difference, and I've only benefited because I sowed some in autumn, which I rarely do. If they start earlier, they'll also finish earlier. There's a limited growing time for any annual. It's also down to seed quality too. Constant deadheading pays dividends too - I try and do them every day if I can. It would be worth sowing some in late April or so, and that will give you more of a succession. I can sometimes have them flowering into late October, until the weather annihilates them. Frosts are fine, but not the wild wet/sleety stuff. @celcius_kkw - I never used the granular food in the past, but I've noticed better results since adding a little bit on planting. I tend to use mainly tomato food though. Hearty soil is also a big factor. My spring sown ones have a few buds now, so they won't be long.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Posts
@Fairygirl Yes.. I think I’ve overdone it in that pot too.. when I first planted them out in that pot it looked just right but the side shooting went mad over time lol! I’ve been fertilising with high potash chempak twice a week currently.. maybe I should increase that to every other day given it’s so hot this week. Also, watering/fertilising has become a tricky task as it’s hard to get the nozzle into the centre.. and pouring from the top won’t work as it will just bounce off the leaves and splatter everywhere..
Incidentally did anyone catch Monty's advice last week to cut off ALL the flowering stems of sweet peas, and not just dead head? It seems counter intuitive to me, does sacrificing current decent flowers that haven't gone over really give such a great second flush that it's worth it??? Anyone do it?
I use slow release food in my pots, and then a tomato feed every so often later in the year - from about end of July. My pots have turf in the bottom to help retain water too. Despite our regular rainfall here, the foliage prevents the pots getting as much water into them as they often need. When there's a lot of top growth to support, they need a lot of water.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Feeding every day seems quite a lot... Can't remember if I put slow release in or not, bu they are just getting a weekly feed (er, if I remember. Which reminds me, today is designated feeding day (as was yesterday, and the day before and...) I really should get on top of this. It seems to take almost a whole bottle of liquid tomato food to feed everything that needs feeding
I use some slow release stuff, and the tomato food is just an additional extra as they need some help once they start producing flowers. Deadheading is vital to prolong the display too. It's a waste of energy for the plant to produce seed, when it can be producing more buds.
It's the plant's sole aim is to try and reproduce, and what we're doing is trying to prevent that as we want more flowers
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
If I don't have it, I only use tomato food, and I would use that weekly once the plants are established and growing well. It's not necessary before that, as the compost gives them enough. Good quality compost is important too when they're in pots
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I hope you are getting some flowers now. Mine are not prolific but am able to pick a small posey every other day and keep it at my side. (Mainly Solway Sereneade, I think.) Definitely to be filed under 'improves quality of life'
I am wondering how to do it better next year though. Start the later? (Buy a greenhouse?!)
You can start them undercover, but it depends on your conditions and climate as to the results once they go outside. We don't normally have enough warmth in April and May to get them going, so this year was quite a difference, and I've only benefited because I sowed some in autumn, which I rarely do.
If they start earlier, they'll also finish earlier. There's a limited growing time for any annual. It's also down to seed quality too. Constant deadheading pays dividends too - I try and do them every day if I can. It would be worth sowing some in late April or so, and that will give you more of a succession. I can sometimes have them flowering into late October, until the weather annihilates them. Frosts are fine, but not the wild wet/sleety stuff.
@celcius_kkw - I never used the granular food in the past, but I've noticed better results since adding a little bit on planting. I tend to use mainly tomato food though. Hearty soil is also a big factor. My spring sown ones have a few buds now, so they won't be long.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...