RE: larkspur/sweetpeas -Reply -Reply

Val,

I'm not sure if your last reference was to
difficulty growing sweet peas, but I thought I'd
share my experience on the subject, if it will
help (and if that was what your comment was
about).

I never had any luck with sweet peas until one
of my old neighbors said, "Ya gotta start 'em by
Lincoln's Birthday" (which is of course now
President's Day).

So that's what I've done.  I do soak them 24
hours, dig a 1foot deep trench and load it with
compost.  Apparently they are very heavy
feeders.  I sow the seed about 2" deep, and only
cover them about 1" or so until they start
growing and then I fill the rest of the trench in.

The other thing about them is, while they are a
"cool weather" lover, I cannot get them to grow
unless I plant them in full sun, like a south
wall.  Of course, I live in Oregon.  They grow
and bloom about May/June (depending on the
year) and I let them go to seed by August,
because by then the pumpkins and gourds have
taken off and I use the same trellising for them
all.

My favorite and nearly the only one I grow
now is called Metucana, through Seymour
Seeds.  They are the "original" sweetpea, I
believe, and are a two tone deep purple and
lavender.  The fragrance is absolutely
unsurpassed by any other sweet pea I've ever
grown.  You can smell them all over the yard
on the south side.  In mild years these will
even reseed in my garden (but the trellising is
under some deep eves of the house so it doesn't
get as wet there as other places.

I am zone 6a/7b, east of Portland, Oregon. 
Hope this helps.
>>> <lowery@teamzeon.com> 08/12/98
07:07am >>>




Valerie Lowery@ZEON
08/12/98 11:07 AM

Here in zone 6a Kentucky, the only time I was
able to successfully start
larkspur was when I started them inside under
cool conditions in late
January.  When I finally put them out, they
were fairly substantial plants,
about 4 inches or so high.  They shrug off a lot
of cold, so I did not
coddle them -- basically plopped them in the
ground and gave them a good
watering.  After that, I did not water them
anymore.  Seems as if they
prefer dry soil, at least in my backyard.

When I did the same this year, it was a wet
spring and most of them rotted.
The ones that didn't only grew to about 10
inches.  The ones that actually
self-seeded where even smaller.  There is a
neighbor who lets his
self-seed, too.  His crop was very small
compared to last year's.  On a
good note, my foxgloves were the best I've ever
seen!

Again, I'm thinking the key is to start them
early to get a bunch going,
and letting them self-seed.  Hope for a cool, dry
spring.

There are some that say sweet peas are as easy
to grow as larkspur.  It
would explain why they never did squat in my
yard despite attempts about
every other year.

Val in KY
zone 6a


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