How I wish I had read this forum before I sowed my autumn sweet pea. I seem to have done most of the wrong things as a result of which I have leggy plants which I probably sowed too early and didn't appreciate they didn't need extra warmth to germinate in the autumn. My only excuse is that I've never tried autumn sweet pea before and I that only joined the Gardner's World site last week. I hope to do better next year!
Oh what a shame! I do try to encourage people not to coddle them.
Perhaps all may not be lost, if you nip out the growing tips & we get some cold weather to steady their growth, they may be OK.
I saved my own seed as I had a sweet pea from a mixed pack with a lovely deep purple colour. They have now germinated, I sowed later, and only found this thread today. 2 questions - will the sweet peas come true to colour
- I also saved some hanging basket sweet pea seeds, no sign of germination are these likely to be F1 or have I not saved seeds correctly.
Just a couple of points. Because of cross pollination, your mixed sweet peas may not necessarily reproduce true to type, but should still give a worthwhile display. It may also be worth noting that deep purple sweet peas have a stronger scent than the paler colours....this is because they are closer related to the original sweet peas.
There isn't any difference in the procedure for saving seed from F1 hybrids. Hanging basket sweet peas don't lend themselves to autumn sowing...much better to sow the seed directly into the baskets in the spring.
I am growing dwarf sweet peas from seed this autumn using root trainers to get a better root system established. They were sown in September using an electric propagator at 15 deg C and after about 14 days most of them germinated. They were then moved into a colder mini greenhouse where they have remained since including one or two nights at freezing temperatures. I will keep them there overwinter and not pinch out the leading tip - just let the natural cold temperature growth develop the side shoots until next spring before planting out.
I didn't manage to sow my sweet peas as planned a few weeks ago as my father was rushed into hospital and all sorts of thingsin the garden had to take a back seat. Fortunately he's made a good recovery so now I can concentrate on other things for a bit.
So my question is, should I sow them now or wait until early spring? I have a coldframe they can overwinter in.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
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Oh what a shame!
I do try to encourage people not to coddle them.
Perhaps all may not be lost, if you nip out the growing tips & we get some cold weather to steady their growth, they may be OK.
Thanks for the advice David I will try that and hope for some cold weather.
thanks
I saved my own seed as I had a sweet pea from a mixed pack with a lovely deep purple colour. They have now germinated, I sowed later, and only found this thread today. 2 questions - will the sweet peas come true to colour
- I also saved some hanging basket sweet pea seeds, no sign of germination are these likely to be F1 or have I not saved seeds correctly.
Will sow some in spring any way.
Really informative thread
Hi, Bjay.
Just a couple of points. Because of cross pollination, your mixed sweet peas may not necessarily reproduce true to type, but should still give a worthwhile display. It may also be worth noting that deep purple sweet peas have a stronger scent than the paler colours....this is because they are closer related to the original sweet peas.
There isn't any difference in the procedure for saving seed from F1 hybrids. Hanging basket sweet peas don't lend themselves to autumn sowing...much better to sow the seed directly into the baskets in the spring.
Hope this helps.
David. You really are such a help to everyone
Thank you, Bev. It's no problem, but nice to be appreciated by people such as yourself.
I am growing dwarf sweet peas from seed this autumn using root trainers to get a better root system established. They were sown in September using an electric propagator at 15 deg C and after about 14 days most of them germinated. They were then moved into a colder mini greenhouse where they have remained since including one or two nights at freezing temperatures. I will keep them there overwinter and not pinch out the leading tip - just let the natural cold temperature growth develop the side shoots until next spring before planting out.
I didn't manage to sow my sweet peas as planned a few weeks ago as my father was rushed into hospital and all sorts of thingsin the garden had to take a back seat. Fortunately he's made a good recovery so now I can concentrate on other things for a bit.
So my question is, should I sow them now or wait until early spring? I have a coldframe they can overwinter in.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.