RE: Sweetpeas

I have a neighbor about 5 houses away on the corner. At first I wondered what his hedge was, just seemed to be green leaves on two sides of his property. Then the sweetpeas bloomed. Who would have thought a hedge of sweetpeas! What a sight while they're in bloom.It does tend to look a bit drab the rest of the year (actually non-existant right now on this -26 degree weather). I have no idea what kind they are, but he seems to have found a perennial that works.

Lillian
Zone 5






----Original Message Follows----
From: "Saxton, Susan" <SSaxton@schwabe.com>
Reply-To: perennials@hort.net
To: <perennials@hort.net>
Subject: RE: Sweetpeas
Date: Thu, 16 Jan 2003 09:25:37 -0800

Kate, I love sweatpeas two. I'm sure my advice is not as "scientific" as Graham's would be; I bet that book is worth having. But for what it is worth, here's my experience.

I live in Oregon, zone 6b. I'm sure I am wetter than you, but we do have warm, DRY summers. I could NOT get sweat peas to grow until an elderly lady next door told me I MUST plant them around President's Day (mid-Feb.). Since then, no problems. Apparently they like a bit of cold early in their life.

Here is what I do; try it! I try to go out in Jan. and prepare the bed, digging the depth of a spading fork and working in lots of mushroom compost (I have acid soil and this neutralizes it somewhat; you may need something different). From what I understand sweet peas are heavy feeders. I dig a trench about 2" deep or so.

In mid-Feb. I soak the seeds ahead of time (24 hrs?) and then plant the peas, COVERING THEM ONLY 1-INCH. Once they grow and are up a foot or less, you can fill in the trench a little more. I do this on a south-facing fence and the sweet peas bloom until the really hot weather starts, mid-July. I let them go to seed, save the seed, and remove the old vines.

But I have found that planting sweat peas in clumps around the garden to wander through plants works well too (not as much for cutting though). I have also found that planting sweet peas in a sunny, but cooler site, like the north side of the property (but NOT AGAINST THE HOUSE -- TOO SHADY) that they will bloom later and not quote so prolifically, but if kept deadheaded will continue to Sept. or Oct.!!! It always is a surprise to people who come to see the garden to see sweat peas in late summer/early fall!

My other "recommendation" is to try the "original" sweet pea, some call it Matucana -- it is in catalogues under other names too, but is basically strongly fragrant and an exquisite bi-color of purple and magenta. These are so hardy that they now RESEED (volunteer) all over my garden -- which is wonderful -- even in hot rocky areas -- they don't seem too particular.

Another thing to try -- several of my garden friends and I have noticed here in Oregon at least -- is that the seeds seem to come up readily, uninvited, quite well in the fall.
If the above doesn't work, you could always try planting them in the fall, although you may be too cold for that.

And, even though they are not a perennial in the true sense, they are a perennial FAVORITE so it is appropriate to discuss on this list, right?!

-----Original Message-----
From: Tom Wilson [l*@worldnet.att.net]
Sent: Thursday, January 16, 2003 2:58 AM
To: perennials@hort.net
Subject: Sweetpeas


Hi gardeners:

I've tried raising sweetpeas but have never had great success. Do they need
special soil? I know they like the cooler weather. My sister has had great
sweetpeas and I only live a few miles from her. I wonder what I'm doing
wrong? Perhaps not enough water? Just purchased some blue colors as I'm
into blue colors in the garden this year. I'm determined to keep trying
until I succeed. The sun gets pretty hot here on the Mountain were we live
and not much shade. Any suggests would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
Kate
Zionsville, PA
Zone 6

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