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Sweet pea tendrils

KirstyWYKirstyWY Posts: 35
in Plants
On GW last week was a home made video about sweet peas, the young lady in the video says she takes off the tendrils as the plant puts their effort into them. I've never heard of this and I've grown sweet peas for many years as a cut flower.

Is this something everyone does and I've just not come across this method? To de-tendril or not de-tendril?

Posts

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    It's often done for showing purposes, so that the stems stay straight, rather than becoming entwined around the tendrils and supports.
    Most home growers don't bother though. Too much faff. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,618
    The tendrils help the plant to grow up. Unless you want to tie in every shoot twice a week, I leave tendrils.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Exactly @fidgetbones :D
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    I used to grow them and cut most of the tendrils off only leaving a few to cling on.
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • WonkyWombleWonkyWomble Posts: 4,541
    Lovely though she was, the video showed someone of the age of about 7. 
    I went to a garden customer that had pinched off her tendrils and Has now got floppy sweet peas that need to be tied.
    Don't know why we think we know better than nature!
    Personal choice of course but it's not something I do, I'm busy enough to want extra jobs of clipping sweet peas to stakes  :)
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    I think that seven year old’s grandpa had found the perfect way to keep a seven year old granddaughter occupied 👍 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • WonkyWombleWonkyWomble Posts: 4,541
    It's not a bad idea in that case Dove.  ;)
  • KirstyWYKirstyWY Posts: 35
    WonkyWomble said:
    Lovely though she was, the video showed someone of the age of about 7. 
    I went to a garden customer that had pinched off her tendrils and Has now got floppy sweet peas that need to be tied.
    Don't know why we think we know better than nature!

    Yes, that's what I thought - why would the plant prioritise tendrils over flowers (then seeds)? Adam Frost seemed to concur though, so I wondered whether I'd missed a whole area of thought when it comes to sweet pea growing!
  • WonkyWombleWonkyWomble Posts: 4,541
    Don't think Adam wanted to correct or discourage her maybe.   ;) My sweet peas have nearly reached  thetop of the outside of my greenhouse so I've run out of canes tall enough. Workout the tendrils they works be flopping all over the place !
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