Sweet Pea flowers

[MinnesotaGardening]

I grow sweet peas every summer, I love the smell! I plant some indoors and then transplant them out, and then interseed with a second round to extend the harvest. Mine thrive all summer in full sun. But I am a cooler region than you (our days are usually in the mid 80s all summer, with some days up to 100+.)

In previous years I have grown the "Sweet Dreams" mix, as well as others I've gotten in seed swaps. But this year I am also trying the "America" variety.

 

[ducks4you]

Use your GoogleFoo, grasshopper!!

How to Grow Sweet Peas - Floret Flowers

Learn step by step how to grow fragrant, nostalgic sweet peas.

www.floretflowers.com

Sweet Pea Flowers - How to Grow Sweet Peas from Seed | Gardener's Supply

If you want to grow flowers from seed, start with sweet peas. The large seeds are easy to manage and most varieties germinate readily.

www.gardeners.com

How To Grow Sweet Peas | Thompson & Morgan

Learn how to create a classic, fragrant Sweet Pea garden. Follow the step by step guide at T&M from sowing to cutting.

www.thompson-morgan.com

 

[thistlebloom]

Googling is not quite the same as asking a gardener you trust.

 

[digitS']

... our days are usually in the mid 80s all summer, with some days up to 100+.

That's about the same for here. About half the summers, 100 isn't hit.

A problem for many plants is day after day of dropping below 20% humidity in the afternoons. The dryness and elevation also means plunging temperatures overnight. Both, probably, put some strain on peas ... altho for diseases, it's powdery mildew that may start rather than downy mildew. I almost never see downy mildew (that I recognize as such).

Anyway, peas run their cycle from an early spring planting. Edible pea varieties can certainly bloom from a late July planting of seed. That might work with sweet peas, too.

(Yes, @YourRabbitGirl , the common names can be confusing. I try to use "shell, snap & snow" for the edible types and avoid the term "sweet" except for fragrant types. )

Steve

 

[Prairie Rose]

I have a pack of sweet peas to plant, but I haven't decided where to put them yet. We are kind of in the middle between cooler northern summers and hot humid southern ones here. I have seen the 100 degree high humidity bits start in May and not slack off till October, and sometimes we just have a few miserable days here and there.

I may plant them in big pots next to the porch on the north side of my house. It will get a few hours of sun in the morning and evening, but be protected from the bulk of the sun's rays. I can also let them climb netting to make a living sunshade for that porch; I have done it with runner beans in the past, but they needed more sun than that spot gets to truly thrive.

 

[MinnesotaGardening]

That's about the same for here. About half the summers, 100 isn't hit.

A problem for many plants is day after day of dropping below 20% humidity in the afternoons. The dryness and elevation also means plunging temperatures overnight. Both, probably, put some strain on peas ... altho for diseases, it's powdery mildew that may start rather than downy mildew. I almost never see downy mildew (that I recognize as such).

I don't know how much stress is put on sweet peas by the nightly temp swings, but the sweet peas in my garden last fall resisted some frost. I dont know what temp would have actually gotten them, because I pulled them up when I cleaned off the trellis they were on. Beans/squash/zinnias/most other plants were long dead by then.

 

[so lucky]

Now you all have got me wanting to try some again. I tried a few years ago, but the plants remained scrawny and kind of disappeared. Or maybe weed-whacked. Once I decided to sprout the seeds indoors, but then I forgot about them and the sprouted seeds dried up.
My mother used to have some that came up every year. I don't remember them having an especially strong scent. But they were pretty in little bouquets, like @Carol Dee makes.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

I can also be fun to mix sweet peas with other members of the Lathyus genus, which can give you a bit of extra diversity of colors and shapes.

The only tricky part may be FINDING other members of the genus. L. sativus (grasspea) is good for bright blues and pretty easy to find. "King Tut" is the standard there.*

L. latifolius (everlasting pea) is easy to get as well (too easy) and a nice shade of pink but you will NEVER get rid of it if you plant it

Beyond that, it gets harder. There are a few other European species ones listed on Ebay, but mostly out of the country (and in some cases, with ridiculous shipping prices) Thompson and Morgan has a species one (they usually do) but whether they have it in the US store I can't figure out.

L. benilensis is a nice shade of orange and yellow if you can find it.




*Make sure you are looking at King Tut the GRASSPEA. There is a bronze podded eating pea called King Tut as well.

 

[MinnesotaGardening]

I grow L. sativus, too. I didnt realize they could cross. Interesting...

 

[Pulsegleaner]

I didn't say they could cross, I said they could add more colors to the bouquet. Though depending on where you source your seed L. sativus can come in pretty much every flower color that sweet pea can. It's just that most of the commercial stuff is blue and blue only (occasionally you can find one that makes pink)