Very interested to hear about hardiness of sp. Had always thought they were tricky so thanks for that! I cheated and bought mine at the garden centre yesterday. have not grown sp for years for various reasons but need them to cover a trellis previously covered by clematis which died recently! Its on my patio so they will be in large pot...any tips on compost or other sp requirements? Like Everos I would like to know whether I should pinch tops?
Yes pinch out the growing tip to encourage bushy growth. I mainly grow mine in big pots so that they can be positioned accordingly. I don't use anything special as far as compost is concerned but I add some grit and always make sure they are well fed and watered. I use pots at least 15" diameter normally but I put gravel/polystyrene or old plastic pots in the bottom so I use less compost. Hope that's of some help
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Just planted a dozen 'Blue Velvet' out in a largish container (60cm dia, 40cm deep) with mixed garden soil & MP compost. Pinched out a month ago and now bushy and about 20cm tall. I love blue sweet peas!
A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
If you read the blog on sweet peas from the top growers, they will tell you to grow them as hard as possible. I usually make 3 sowings, November, Christmas and January, over 300 seeds. some of the early ones will be brought on in large pots in the greenhouse, these are now outside and have been for the past 6 weeks their height is about 12 inches; hopefully they should start to flower next month. happy growing Valrobbo
I'm a complete beginner at sweet peas but I've followed the advice here and on the sweet pea thread, I now have a dozen or so plants in the ground and large pots in various parts of the garden and with various things to grow up. Thanks for everyone's advice - and I'm hoping to have lots of flowers to cut
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Mine were planted out at the weekend - they've been in an open cold-frame for weeks now, tough as old boots.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
My sweetpeas are about 3" tall, should they be taller than this before planting out? & should the tops be pinched off to encourage bushing?
Very interested to hear about hardiness of sp. Had always thought they were tricky so thanks for that! I cheated and bought mine at the garden centre yesterday. have not grown sp for years for various reasons but need them to cover a trellis previously covered by clematis which died recently! Its on my patio so they will be in large pot...any tips on compost or other sp requirements? Like Everos I would like to know whether I should pinch tops?
Yes pinch out the growing tip to encourage bushy growth. I mainly grow mine in big pots so that they can be positioned accordingly. I don't use anything special as far as compost is concerned but I add some grit and always make sure they are well fed and watered. I use pots at least 15" diameter normally but I put gravel/polystyrene or old plastic pots in the bottom so I use less compost. Hope that's of some help
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Just planted a dozen 'Blue Velvet' out in a largish container (60cm dia, 40cm deep) with mixed garden soil & MP compost. Pinched out a month ago and now bushy and about 20cm tall. I love blue sweet peas!
If you read the blog on sweet peas from the top growers, they will tell you to grow them as hard as possible. I usually make 3 sowings, November, Christmas and January, over 300 seeds. some of the early ones will be brought on in large pots in the greenhouse, these are now outside and have been for the past 6 weeks their height is about 12 inches; hopefully they should start to flower next month. happy growing Valrobbo
Thanks everyone! All very helpful advice and much appreciated!
I'm a complete beginner at sweet peas but I've followed the advice here and on the sweet pea thread, I now have a dozen or so plants in the ground and large pots in various parts of the garden and with various things to grow up. Thanks for everyone's advice - and I'm hoping to have lots of flowers to cut