As the name suggests, I love sweet pea's, but I've never grown them, and only ever enjoyed them in vases. I bought some seedlings from Homebase last week and potted them in a small terracotta pot, as the pot they came in was tiny. Since potting them in the pot, they seem to be falling over and sloping, as if they're too heavy for the stems to carry. I'm not sure what to do, do I need to be offering them support?
They are currently only about 4 inches tall, and in a small pot. I can move them to a flower bed if required. Should they need support so early on, or is it more likely they've been damaged by wind and hail? My garden is very open to the elements.
No reason at all (if they have been hardened-off) why they can't be planted out now. As I've said many times previously, they don't care for cold winds....so maybe fleece them until they get established.
Push a few twiggy bits into the soil around them for support...of course, they'll need something more substantial later.
May I ask if they are a Climbing (up to about 6 ft) or Dwarf variety? For a small pot I would suggest growing the Dwarf variety as they do not grow tall and do not need any form of support. It seems you have a climbing variety and therefore support in the form of 6 ft canes/netting/ willow branches is needed and better grown in an open well dug and composted soil. You can make a wigwam of bamboo canes and plant 3-4 seedlings at the base of each cane and attach the first shoots to the bottom of the cane with slip rings- you can buy these from a garden centre in packets of a 100 or so.
Thanks again for all that have replied. I have no idea what type they are, the label simply stated 'Sweet Pea - Mixed' judging by the fact they were only £1 I wasn't expecting too much from them, but I thought it might be worth a shot.
My sweetpeas are at the back in the terracotta pot, there's one that's already fallen over in that photo, and a few more have since. The pot they came in was a quarter of the size!
I'm not sure our beds are deep enough for 6ft worth of growth! It's a very small garden, and currently the narrow beds we have are covered with wood chips, courtesy of our landlord when he redid the driveway.
SweetPea, I'm wondering if you have seen mature sweetpea plants growing. They are tall. These are photos I took at Anne Hathaway's cottage, Stratford upon Avon.
Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
They are gorgeous Lizzie. In this month's mag there is an article on sweet peas and I'm going to ask my neighbour over the road who has been chopping trees if they have any long twigs/branches to build a frame like in the mag.
Something has eaten 2 of my sweet pea plants now and not sure what,tiny tiny little holes, not a mouse or slugs, possibly ants although I've only seen a couple and do they eat sweet peas?? I think I'm jinxed
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"they are starting to get shoots at the bottom so 'bushing out' which will hopefully make them stronger"
That's a really hopeful sign, Tracy....they will attach to the twigs when the first tendrils develop.
As the name suggests, I love sweet pea's, but I've never grown them, and only ever enjoyed them in vases. I bought some seedlings from Homebase last week and potted them in a small terracotta pot, as the pot they came in was tiny. Since potting them in the pot, they seem to be falling over and sloping, as if they're too heavy for the stems to carry. I'm not sure what to do, do I need to be offering them support?
Thanks,
SP
They are currently only about 4 inches tall, and in a small pot. I can move them to a flower bed if required. Should they need support so early on, or is it more likely they've been damaged by wind and hail? My garden is very open to the elements.
Thanks for your reply.
SP
SP - Presuming this is directed to me.
No reason at all (if they have been hardened-off) why they can't be planted out now. As I've said many times previously, they don't care for cold winds....so maybe fleece them until they get established.
Push a few twiggy bits into the soil around them for support...of course, they'll need something more substantial later.
May I ask if they are a Climbing (up to about 6 ft) or Dwarf variety? For a small pot I would suggest growing the Dwarf variety as they do not grow tall and do not need any form of support. It seems you have a climbing variety and therefore support in the form of 6 ft canes/netting/ willow branches is needed and better grown in an open well dug and composted soil. You can make a wigwam of bamboo canes and plant 3-4 seedlings at the base of each cane and attach the first shoots to the bottom of the cane with slip rings- you can buy these from a garden centre in packets of a 100 or so.
Hope this is of help.
MH
Thanks again for all that have replied. I have no idea what type they are, the label simply stated 'Sweet Pea - Mixed' judging by the fact they were only £1 I wasn't expecting too much from them, but I thought it might be worth a shot.
My sweetpeas are at the back in the terracotta pot, there's one that's already fallen over in that photo, and a few more have since. The pot they came in was a quarter of the size!
I'm not sure our beds are deep enough for 6ft worth of growth! It's a very small garden, and currently the narrow beds we have are covered with wood chips, courtesy of our landlord when he redid the driveway.
SweetPea, I'm wondering if you have seen mature sweetpea plants growing. They are tall. These are photos I took at Anne Hathaway's cottage, Stratford upon Avon.
Busy Lizzie, I believe the ones my dad grew when I was a little one, would have been of the dwarf variety, none grew over 4 foot or so.
They are gorgeous Lizzie. In this month's mag there is an article on sweet peas and I'm going to ask my neighbour over the road who has been chopping trees if they have any long twigs/branches to build a frame like in the mag.
Something has eaten 2 of my sweet pea plants now and not sure what,tiny tiny little holes, not a mouse or slugs, possibly ants although I've only seen a couple and do they eat sweet peas??
I think I'm jinxed 