Hi Folks, Just popped on to see how everyone is doing re the sweet pea's. Following David's recommendation I bought seed from Eagle Sweet peas and did an autumn sowing. I have just picked my first bunch and they are beautiful. Long stemmed, large flower heads and as I have been a good girl and removed tendrils and regularly tied them in the plants are not a tangled mess.
I went for the Chelsea Collection (had best colours IMHO). Only one small niggle is that some of the varieties in the collection don't have much perfume, but others have loads, swings and roundabouts you might say.
Next year I will def go to Eagle Sweet Peas again but might try the Centenary Collection which contain the pre spencer varieties (smaller but more perfumed) I wonder if anyone has grown them and what their thoughts are. ie Do they suffer from Mildew more than the modern varieties etc.
Hope you are well David and would love to see some photos of your sweet peas. I'll take a photo of the ones I have grown and post as soon as I can.
Yvie - Great to hear your autumn sown SPs have been successful & are giving you pleasure. Of course, Eagle SPs (and other suppliers) do offer seed specifically for scent.....alas, they may not be the colours you want. as you say, it's a trade-off. It may be worth noting that the dark colours, verging on mauve have the strongest scent.
Although there are some excellent suppliers of sweet pea seed out there, I recommend Eagle, as I know the dedication & hard work that goes into producing their excellent seed.
Regards posting pics of my own SPs, I think folks must be fed-up of seeing them by now, instead, i'll post a pic of my friends Jenny & Derek....Mr & Mrs Eagle.
Hello Everyone just a quick update on my sweetpeas they are growing probs about 50cm in height with flowering buds appearing but they seem to be a tangled jungle if that makes sense is this normal i thought they might be taller and have spread out more .I have tied the taller ones to the fence to spread them out a bit.
Is there still time for them to really take off and cover my fence or is the tangled jungle going to spoil their growth?
Slightly puzzled by your query, Baz. Do you know what type they are? Your question suggests they may be something other than the standard cordon type.....unless you remove the tendrils they do get rather tangled, but not usually this early in the season.
I see no problems with those, Baz...they look healthy and have a lot more upwards growth to make yet. You can remove some of the tendrils to avoid them becoming too tangled, Also, when these tendrils attach themselves to the flower stems, they make them twisted too...almost ruining the flowers.
You're welcome....but remember, those tendrils are a there for a purpose i.e. enabling them to climb. So if you remove most of them, they will require tying in.
Remember to feed & water freely at this stage too.
Posts
Hi Folks, Just popped on to see how everyone is doing re the sweet pea's. Following David's recommendation I bought seed from Eagle Sweet peas and did an autumn sowing. I have just picked my first bunch and they are beautiful. Long stemmed, large flower heads and as I have been a good girl and removed tendrils and regularly tied them in the plants are not a tangled mess.
I went for the Chelsea Collection (had best colours IMHO). Only one small niggle is that some of the varieties in the collection don't have much perfume, but others have loads, swings and roundabouts you might say.
Next year I will def go to Eagle Sweet Peas again but might try the Centenary Collection which contain the pre spencer varieties (smaller but more perfumed) I wonder if anyone has grown them and what their thoughts are. ie Do they suffer from Mildew more than the modern varieties etc.
Hope you are well David and would love to see some photos of your sweet peas. I'll take a photo of the ones I have grown and post as soon as I can.
yvieI may do the same, perfume so important, having seen the eagle chapson Chelsea want to give them business too
Yvie - Great to hear your autumn sown SPs have been successful & are giving you pleasure. Of course, Eagle SPs (and other suppliers) do offer seed specifically for scent.....alas, they may not be the colours you want. as you say, it's a trade-off. It may be worth noting that the dark colours, verging on mauve have the strongest scent.
Although there are some excellent suppliers of sweet pea seed out there, I recommend Eagle, as I know the dedication & hard work that goes into producing their excellent seed.
Regards posting pics of my own SPs, I think folks must be fed-up of seeing them by now,
instead, i'll post a pic of my friends Jenny & Derek....Mr & Mrs Eagle. 
Jenny & Derek
Hello Everyone just a quick update on my sweetpeas they are growing probs about 50cm in height with flowering buds appearing but they seem to be a tangled jungle if that makes sense is this normal i thought they might be taller and have spread out more .I have tied the taller ones to the fence to spread them out a bit.
Is there still time for them to really take off and cover my fence or is the tangled jungle going to spoil their growth?
Thanks
Baz
Slightly puzzled by your query, Baz. Do you know what type they are? Your question suggests they may be something other than the standard cordon type.....unless you remove the tendrils they do get rather tangled, but not usually this early in the season.
Hello David here is a couple of photo's of my sweetpeas that i was trying to explain in the previous post .Have a look and see what you think.
Thanks
Baz
I see no problems with those, Baz...they look healthy and have a lot more upwards growth to make yet. You can remove some of the tendrils to avoid them becoming too tangled, Also, when these tendrils attach themselves to the flower stems, they make them twisted too...almost ruining the flowers.
Thanks
Baz
You're welcome....but remember, those tendrils are a there for a purpose i.e. enabling them to climb. So if you remove most of them, they will require tying in.
Remember to feed & water freely at this stage too.