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© 2010, Andy_S. All rights reserved.

This grandiflora variety was introduced by Burpee in 1907 and released in America under the name ‘Brilliant Blue’. It was renamed ‘Lord Nelson’ by House.

Grandiflora Sweet Pea - Lord Nelson

Having a rich, deep navy blue colour and sweet, strong scent it remains one of the most popular grandifloras more than 100 years after its introduction.

It is actually a bi-colour, albeit very subtle. The wings are a deep inky blue – almost indigo, while the standards are clearer navy blue.

Lord Nelson is available online from Just Sweet Peas.

© 2010, Andy_S. All rights reserved.

There’s no doubting that the best time to sow sweet peas is in the autumn. This mimics Mother Nature’s timing as the seed from the spent annuals falls to the ground. The lack of sunlight and cooler temperatures slow the top growth – promoting a healthy root system as a desirable side effect. As Spring warms the air, and the soil becomes more dry, the well established root system is in pole position to search for deeper and deeper water reserves. But this doesn’t suit all growers or climates…

Autumn Sown

The well favoured British way of growing sweet peas is to sow the seeds under glass in the autumn, and harden the seedlings off under glass in a coldframe for the winter. October and November are normal, but with milder winters we must be careful not to get too much top growth which could easily be damaged. For plants grown using the cordon-method this is a prerequisite, likewise for exhibition quality blooms. This doesn’t suit most gardeners, however, as it rarely coincides with their growing schedule for other plants.

Winter Sown

An alternative is to sow in January or Febuary. Seeds might need a little encouragement to germinate – a cool windowsill is ideal, but care must be taken to ensure that plants do not become ‘leggy’. Plants should be hardened off by placing them outside during the day and bringing them in if the nights are likely to become very cold. After a few days of this the plants can be moved out to a cold frame or unheated glass house. If the sun is strong, the vents should be opened to prevent the conditions becoming too warm and accelerating top growth. By mid March the plants should be ready to plant out, and if they have been hardened off sufficiently, will be quite able to wether all but the hardest frosts.

Spring Sown

Perhaps most common amongst hobbyist gardeners is to sow seeds in spring. Coldframes and greenhouses should not be necessary, howerver, it is still preferable to sow in pots, or Rootrainers where soil and temperature conditions can be more easily controlled. Seeds can be sown like this in March and April and will give great results. Occasional protection from frosts may be required and can be provided by means of a fleece, or cloche, or straw.

Late Spring Sown

If spring is wet and murky, and foreward planning of your summer garden is the furthest thing from your mind, it is easy to forget to buy and plant annuals. Don’t despair! Planting seeds in May or even June will yield flowers by late summer and into Autumn when other flowers are beginning to fade. Planting directly into the growing site is worth a go this late on – and with so little effort invested in growing this way, you haven’t much to lose!

© 2010, Andy_S. All rights reserved.

Growing sweet peas is not tough. As with many annuals, you could just poke a seed in the ground and wait. You would actually get pretty good results too. But this is certainly not the way too get the best results. So how can we improve our chances of success?

We first need to define what we mean by “success”. For the majority growers success can be a measure of germination rate, flowering period, number of flowers, length of the stems, uniformity of the blooms and so on. We’ll look at how to achieve these in more detail below.

When to Sow?

There are a number of options open to the sweet pea grower. In short, autumn sowing is preferred, but is by no means necessary – most gardeners will achieve satisfactory results by sowing in spring. See Sweet Peas – When to Sow for a full discussion. Regardless of when you sow your seeds, the considerations that follow hold true.

Choosing Seeds and Varieties

Your needs and location will dictate this. Commercially produced seed is always favourable, as it ought to be free of rogues and the germination rate should be fairly dependable. That’s not to say it isn’t enormous fun saving and sowing your own seeds – because it is! But if you want consistent colours and reliable germination, commercial seed is the way to go.

Ferry-Morse Royal Family c.1970s

Most types can be grown in the UK and Western Europe without much consideration, but for the US where the days are hotter, Cuthbersons or Royals are a good choice. Both were derived from Spencers by the Ferry-Morse Seed Company and are better able to stand the higher temperatures of an American summer.

How to sow?

There are really no right and wrong answers here. Different growers will report differing levels of success – and what one grower swears by, another may dismiss out of hand. I think it is important to bear in mind a few undisputed facts which will allow us to form a framework – sweet peas like sun, deep soil, plenty of water and freely draining soil – eveything else is just to help the germination process along and improve the chances of getting healthier seedlings, and ultimately more and better flowers.

Having selected our seeds, we need a growing medium (our soil or compost) and something to put it all in. I have obtained good results using Westland John Innes Seed Sowing Compost in 5″ Rootrainers.

As an alternative, if you want a way to put your empty toilet rolls to good use, save them throughout the year and these can make good starter pots – just plant the seedlings along with the pot in the growing site and you’ll avoid root any potential root damage. The pot will just rot away over the summer in the ground. You can also buy specially created sweet pea tubes that do the same thing, but my preference is the Rootrainers, just for the convenience of being able to move 32 cells at a time (I’m also incredibly clumsy, and find myself knocking the tubes over way too often). In the absence of any of the above it is possible to use 3″ pots, but the restricted depth may hamper root development.

Many growers (myself included) find germination can be improved by chipping the seed coat. Using a sharp knife, cut away a tiny bit of the hard outer coating of the seed on the side away from the eye. This will promote the uptake of moisture by the seed, and hopefully provide more reliable and uniform germination. Plant the seeds about 1-2cm deep and cover. The soil should be kept moist, but not soggy – the seeds can easily rot if kept too wet for prolonged periods (some varieties are more susceptible than others).

Now you have to wait. Germination can occur anything between a few days and a few weeks after sowing. It is possible to move the seeds to a warm room to encourage faster germination, but I would caution against it. If the seedlings are started in a warm room, they will rocket out through the soil in search of a good source of light, becoming weak and leggy, and it happens very quickly! Better to wait and bring the seedlings up as hard as possible. It is beneficial at this stage to keep the soil consistently moist. Don’t be afraid to give them a good soak if the weather has been warm.

Planting Out

When the seedlings reech 4-5″ tall, its time to plant out (unless you are over-wintering). Pinching-out first is an option, but I have never found it to be necessary – the side shoots tend to come anyway. Over-wintered plants should be tolerant of all but the hardest frosts. Spring sown plants may need a little protection if frosts persist. Protect seeds and seedlings from slugs, mice and pigeons.

Sweet peas should be planted in a sunny position, although they can do well on a shady wall. As long as they get plenty of light they should do well. The soil should be rich and well drained, and preferably deep. It is not necessary to make any special preperations, but a well worked spot with plenty of organic matter will reward you with better flowers and a longer season. The perfectionist would do well to read Bernard R. Jones’ book [ref] (sadly out of print – but readily available from second hand book shops) or Graham Rice’s “The Sweet Pea Book” [ref] for a full discussion on soil and location.

Care

From now on, your sweet peas will require lots of water, and the occasional feed (use a general purpose plant food formulated for flowers). Use supports in the form of canes, cane wigwams, strong netting or a trellis. Keep an eye out for greenfly or any signs of fungus and treat as necessary. Soon your plants should start to flower! Cut the flowers regularly to prevent the plant going to seed – when it does it will no longer produce flowers.

Final Thoughts

The guidance provided here is pretty general. Your local conditions, budget, time and growing site may have the final word. Remember, all sweet peas really need is a good sunny spot. If you don’t intend to exhibit your flowers, you will get satisfactory results as long as the plants get plenty of sun and water. If you do intend to exhibit, and haven’t already done so, joining a specialist society will help enormously. In the UK the National Sweet Pea Society is the way to go. The members are very generous with their knowledge and will gladly give support, advice and encouragement. The books listed below are highly recommended if you want more detail on preparing your site, cordon growing, soil preparation etc.

Bibliography

• [1986,book] bibtex
  B. R. Jones, The Complete Guide to Sweet Peas, John Gifford Ltd., London, 1986.
  @book{ jones1986,
  author = {Bernard R. Jones},
  publisher = {John Gifford Ltd., London},
  title = {The Complete Guide to Sweet Peas},
  year = 1986 }

• [2005,book] bibtex
  G. Rice, The Sweet Pea Book, Chrysalis Books Group, London, 2005.
  @book{ rice2005,
  author = {Graham Rice},
  publisher = {Chrysalis Books Group, London},
  title = {The Sweet Pea Book},
  ISBN = {0713489456},
  year = 2005 }

© 2010, Andy_S. All rights reserved.

Sweet peas have taken a number of exciting evolutionary steps, with a little help from breeders trying to introduce favourable qualities to better suite a particular climate, or to enhance a desirable feature or characteristic. The following terms are commonly used to represent some of the major groupings:

Grandiflora

The Grandiflora group are my personal favourites, and represent the first major improvements in sweet peas. Henry Eckford, C. C. Morse, W. A. Burpee and D. M. Ferry were early pioneers, with hundreds of varieties introduced between them – many of which are still available today!

D. M. Ferry & Co. Autumn 1912 Catalogue

Notable introductions include: America (1896, Morse), Blanche Ferry (1889, Ferry), Prima Donna (1896, Eckford) and Janet Scott (Morse/Burpee, 1903).

The name “Grandiflora” suggests large flowers. Interestingly, compared to modern sweet pea varieties the flowers are small – however, at the time of their introduction, the blooms were a great improvement over what had gone before.

Old Fashioned

The term “Old Fashioned” sweet peas has come to mean a super-set encompassing all the Grandifloras, and the earlier examples, such as Cupani and Painted Lady. I have singled these two out because their history is interesting, and not altogether conclusive.

Sweet Pea Painted Lady

Cupani bears the name of the monk who sent a sample of seeds collected in Sicily to schoolmaster Dr Robert Uvedale in Enfield, Middlesex in 1699. Conventional thinking has this as the first example of Lathyrus odoratus recorded. It is also widely accepted that Painted Lady (amongst others) resulted as a “sport” (a natural mutation) from the original maroon and purple coloured Cupani. However, E. R. Janes’ [ref] book produces some interesting, if not circumstantial, evidence that this may not be the case, and that Painted Lady may in fact have originated in Ceylon (Lathyrus zeylanicus)

The true origins of those early examples seems to be confined to the mists of time, nevertheless, what is not contested is that the varieties we know today are decended from the seeds sent by Cupani, however they got to Sicily.

Spencer

Spencer sweet peas need little introduction, as they are by far the most popular and widespread class of sweet peas today. Silas Cole, head gardener for Earl Spencer, found a large “beflounced and befrilled” sweet pea growing amongst a batch of Prima Donna . A deep rose-pink that was to become Countess Spencer. At around the same time W. J. Unwin and Eckford found similar mutations. Unwin persevered and developed the “Unwins sweet pea”, but later abandoned them in favour of the superior Spencers. Eckford’s variety was never commercially developed.

Cuthbertson

Cuthbertsons were raised in America by Frank Cuthbertson when he emigrated to California after working for Dobbies of Edinburgh. These types are more able to stand the strong summer sunshine in America, and are more popular there than in Britain. They are, however, grown in the UK under glass for the cut flower markets. In Britain Cuthbertsons tend only to be available as a mix, and the colour range is limited.

Dwarf

Originally appearing as rogues, these short plants achieve little more than 12″ (30cm) in height. They are becoming more popular as city living forces people to be more imaginative and creative with their gardening endeavours. They are ideal on patios and hanging baskets, and can make attractive ground cover. They have little merit in terms of cut flowers owing to the shortness of their stems, and not all are well scented. Popular series include Cupids, Patio, Sweetie, Little Sweetheart, Fantasia, Pinnocchio and latterly Cherub. Generally available as mixes, however Cupids are occasionally offered as individual colours.

Intermediate

Intermediates were developed by crossing Dwarf varieties with Spencers, unsurprisingly. Growing to an average of 3′ (90cm) the group is comprised of Knee High, Jet Set, Snoopea and Supersnoop.

Winter Flowering

Bred to flower early these types require less daylight to bloom. Winter Elegance and Solstice are among the best series.

Royals

Like Cuthbertsons, but better in virtually every regard.

• [1953,book] bibtex
  E. R. Janes, Sweet Peas. A Complete Guide to their Culture, , 1953.
  @book{janes1953,
  author = {E. R. Janes},
  interhash = {aed9570bf5b2cb7633bca2bfa09b3c3e},
  intrahash = {6e35b493d64ac80a39423f402955f7a4},
  title = {Sweet Peas. A Complete Guide to their Culture},
  year = 1953, keywords = {complete culture guide peas sweet},
  biburl = {http://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/26e35b493d64ac80a39423f402955f7a4/sweetpea}
}

© 2010, Andy_S. All rights reserved.