Talkback: Growing fragrant sweet peas

Posts

• Gardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147

  August 2011

  I love all scented varieties, especially Charlies Angel, a large sky blue, and Mattucana, a lovely 2 tone dark red and blue. To avoid running out of sweet peas i make a second later sowing which come into flower about now.

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• Gardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147

  August 2011

  The old-fashioned "Cupani" is my favourite for scent, Adam. Its flowers are a pretty red and purple mix but the scent knocks you over. They are reputed to be the origin of our present varieties and to have been in this country for 300 years. My freebies from the magazine did well and I had a good variety of colour from them. All fifteen seeds germinated and all plants still giving flowers though shorter stems now. I divided the plants into two and grew them in two big pots up bamboo wigwams. All in all, a much better performance than my one and only sunflower.

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• Gardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147

  August 2011

  I've grown a lovely variety this year, 'America'. White and red striped, heavy fragrance, and one clump has gotten huge (about 6ft tall, and very prolific, they need picking daily).

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• Gardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147

  August 2011

  This is my 3rd yr of growing s/pea's, and I love them! I have staggered planting s/pea's this year, and plan to plant seeds later this yr, and experiment by growing them in toilet rolls!. Last yr, I was fortunate, to pick s/pea's into November!

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• Gardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147

  August 2011

  Have a hard time growing here in Missouri - we have a lot of hot and humid weather and this summer a lack of rainfall really did them in.
  We have considered trying the perennial variety, but if there is no scent, what is the point?

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• Gardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147

  August 2011

  The perennial sweet pea is a lovely plant, very colourful and hardy and it will clothe a tree or shrub very quickly in between blossom time and berry time. They usually have longer stems than the annual and more flowers and they are very hardy and disease free. I pick great bunches from mine for about six or seven weeks for the house and put pinks or carnations with lovely scent in with them.

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• Gardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147

  August 2011

  I planted some Elephant Garlic, this is the second attept and the same result as last time, they have not grown at all they are the same size as when I planted them. I have just harvested the ordinary Garlic and thats fine. Why won't these Elephant Garlic grow.

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• Gardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147

  August 2011

  MY favourite variety is "jet set" a sweet pea which only grows to 5 feet and produces masses of colourful and scented blooms from as early as may through to september. Keep cutting and removing tendrils but allow it to branch into multi stems. You will be suprised how many different colours of bloom you get.

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• Gardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147

  August 2011

  As well as the usual tall ones, I have grown some Little Sweetheart this year, sowing straight into the border, and am very pleased with the result. I also love cupani, but after a RTA have lost most of my sense of smell. Have to rely on memory now!

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• Gardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147

  August 2011

  Have grown sweetpeas for years using the cordon method and tried lots of different named ones but this year a friend had plants of 'Just Jenny' which is a beautifull midnight blue colour and loads of flowers on each stem. So I purchased some seeds at the Tatton Park show and look forward to growing them next year.

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