Growing Sweet Peas

How to Plant, Grow, and Care for Sweet Pea Flowers

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With their seductive fragrance, sweet peas make great flowers for gardens and bouquets. These pea-like flowering annuals grow in many lovely colors and are suitable for a border, a woodland garden, and a trellis or arch. See how to plant and grow sweet peas. Early sowing is one of the secrets to sweet peas!

Cultivated sweet peas go back at least 300 years. In their native Sicily, these ornamental peas have weak stems and an intense orange-jasmine-honey scent. Modern hybrids are stronger-stalked and have larger blooms.

Growing sweet peas is akin to making a pie crust. Some people have the knack, others don’t. Sweet peas are quite hardy, growing from large, easy-to-handle, pea-like seeds. Still, they’re a bit tricky because they are slow to germinate. It’s worth experimenting with different seeds each year.

Planting

How to Plant Sweet Peas

Early sowing is one of the secrets of sweet peas. In Zone 7 or colder, plant them in very late winter or early spring as soon as the soil is dry enough to work. (Do not wait to sow until last frost.)
In the coldest parts of the country, get a jump on the season by starting sweet peas indoors in six-packs or Jiffy pots. Harden seedlings off for at least a week, and then set them out into the garden as soon as the soil can be worked. If you garden in mild winter climates (Zones 8, 9, or 10), plant sweet peas in the late fall so they can develop and bloom in late winter and early spring.
Sweet peas are happiest with their heads in the sun and their roots deep in cool, moist soil. When possible, plant low-growing annuals in front of them to shade their roots.
Choose a well-drained site. Alkaline soil is best; sprinkle some powdered lime on the surface if your soil tends to be acidic.
Prepare a rich soil by mixing in generous amounts of compost and well-rotted manure to a depth of 2 feet. (Learn more about soil amendments and preparing soil for planting.)
Prior to planting, you’re going to want to dig a nice deep trench of about 4 inches in depth.
After you dig the trench, make holes with a pencil, drop in the seeds, and press down on the soil to firm it and shut out any light.
Before planting, soak the seeds in water for 24 hours. Then nick the seeds with a nail file before planting to speed sprouting. You do not need to soak seeds in a temperate climate.

Check out our video on planting and growing sweet peas:

Care

How to Grow Sweet Peas

Once planted, germination can take 7 to 15 days, depending on the soil temperature.
As seedlings emerge and grow, gradually fill in the trench. Hoe more soil up to them.
Keep soil moist. Summer rain may be ample. If you put your finger into the soil bed to its first joint and the soil is dry: water them at the soil level and do so in the morning; sweet peas can suffer from bud drop.
If you use plenty of aged manure and compost when planting, you do not need to fertilize. If you do want to add nourishment, use high potash feeds, as nitrogen feeds encourage too much top growth.
Sweet peas prefer cool days and nights and will start to fade when temperatures go above 65°F.
Except for the bush types, sweet peas are real climbers. Give them at least 6 feet of good support. Some varieties may climb to 9 or 10 feet. If you don’t have a fence or trellis, provide brush or chicken wire or bushy, stubbly twigs that they can cling to.
When plants become established, mulch well to keep the soil cool and moist. If you mulch, you may not need to water your sweet peas unless the soil gets dry.
To encourage bushy growth, pinch off the tops when plants are 6 inches tall—not before or you’ll encourage premature side-shoot development.
Pick the flowers for bouquets often and the plant will put energy into more blooms instead of going to seed. Harvest the stems when the lowest blossom is just beginning to open.

Pests/Diseases

Slugs and snails may attack young growth.
Pythium root rot, powdery mildew, rust, gray mold, and various leaf spots are common.

Recommended Varieties

‘April in Paris’ is a fragrant modern variety with large creamy-yellow blossoms and lilac shading.
The deliciously scented ‘America’ is an heirloom, dating to 1896. Its petals unfurl to show stunning wavy red and white stripes.
Breeders now offer varieties with old-fashioned perfume scents, as well as heat resistance. Look for heirlooms like the ‘Old Spice’ collection from Sicily. This strain blooms in shades of white, cream, pink, lavender, and purple.

Wit & Wisdom

The sweet pea is an essential member of a late-Victorian garden. Victorians loved sweet peas for their color diversity and fragrance.
Gather the flowers in the morning when the dew is still on them. This is when their scent is the sweetest.
Sweet peas are one of the April birth flowers.

“The odor of the sweet pea is so offensive to flies that it will drive them out of a sick-room, though not in the slightest degree disagreeable to the patient.”
–A tip from The 1899 Old Farmer’s Almanac

Sweet Pea
(Delicate Pleasures)
“Here are sweet peas, on tip-toe for a flight:
With wings of gentle flush o’er delicate white,
And taper fingers catching at all things,
To bind them all about with tiny rings.”
–John Keats (1795–1821)

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Reader Comments

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Sweet peas can take 3 months

Sweet peas can take 3 months from planting to bloom. If your plants are healthy you should see blooms before long. You can feed them with a fertilizer that is high in phosphorous to promote more flowers.

Sweet Peas Zone 10

Hello, I am in San Diego too. I just sow the sweet pea seeds today in the small pot and I forgot soaking them. Do you think it's ok or I need to undo to soak them? Please help, thanks so much.

Am I too late?

I live in South Louisiana. Am I too late in planting my seeds, now?

Planting Sweet Peas

I’m afraid so. In your region, plant sweet peas in October or November and provide a good trellis. They’ll bloom in February or March and continue into May.

wintering..

I live in NE Ohio. My husband planted sweet peas earlier in the year. From what I am reading here, I think we probably planted them too late. They never bloomed, in fact, the didn't even grow very well until very late summer. It is now the end of November, we have had several hard frosts, and they are still green and bushy. My question is.... is there any chance that they will come up in the spring? As I said, they did not bloom, so it won't be a matter of them re-seeding, but could they grow back in the spring? If they could, should we leave them alone, or cut them back? Thanks for the information!!!

Sweet peas need to be

Sweet peas need to be protected from hard freezes and heavy snows. If the ground is still soft you can dig up the plants and plant them in a big container. Move the container into an unheated garage or shed and cover with some blankets if the outside temps. drop below 20 degrees. Do not prune the plants. Most people regard sweet peas as annuals and plant new seeds every year. The trick is to get the seeds growing early in the spring. You can start them indoors 6 to 8 weeks before your last spring frost and then get the seedlings outdoors as soon as possible.

Any tips for flower abortion?

my sweet peas went crazy ,

my sweet peas went crazy , beautiful and full of pods, can they be eaten?

Hi Elayne, No, the flower

Hi Elayne, No, the flower pods may look like they are edible but they are not! In fact, they are poisonous. Just enjoy the flowers. They make great cut flowers, too.

we were up in northern

we were up in northern California and picked cuttings of the wild sweet pea up there, ~ 2 wks+ ago. they have been sitting in a glass filled with water and some plant food in it. some of the cuttings still look healthy. i was wondering if i can get the cuttings to survive and root if put in healthy soil. we are in inland Ventura county of California.

can i dig in my sweet pea

can i dig in my sweet pea plants when they have finished producing, as i would my garden peas, to help replace nitrogen ? .I have searched everywhere for an answer to this question.

Hi Rose, Yes, you can chop

Hi Rose,
Yes, you can chop the sweet pea plants and turn the pieces into the soil, just like garden peas.

I live in the foothills of

I live in the foothills of Northern California and have some wild sweet peas growing. I would like to grow more vines so I can harvest the peas. They taste sooo good! Do the same growing tips apply (soaking the seeds, nicking them before planting)? When should I plant? Our summers are incredibly hot (it's been 105 for the last few days)and our winters are rainy and mostly in the high 30's low 40's at the coldest. Thank you so much for answers and such a great site!

eatting wild sweet pea pods

Mary, I wouldn't be eating any part of the wild sweet peas. I also live in the foothills, in Butte County and I has been told to me that they are very toxic to horses. I have been battling wild sweet peas that grow in a pasture. I would talk to the ag agent before eating any more.

I am trying to grow my sweet

I am trying to grow my sweet peas in pots on the balcony. I have the Old Spice variety and they are about a foot high right now. How long till they bloom? I think I planted them in early April and we are now in the first week of June. One of them looked like it had a small colored bud peeping out, but it has just remained as a mysterious little thing that has not unfurled for about 10 days now. What to do?

I started seedlings indoors

I started seedlings indoors im in phila pa front yard gets late afternoon to evenin sun have clay soil slugs too and want to transplant my babies how n when do i do this help please i love my sweet peas but ive been procrastinating puttin them outside if they die id be devestated any suggestion?i also bought good planting soil n compost i have black mulch not crazy bout the color but if itll keep away slugs im all for it ty sincerely sarah p
Ps so grateful i found this site been searching for days again ty in advance

Sweet peas love cool weather;

Sweet peas love cool weather; it might be getting too hot for them in Philly now. If you'd like to try, however, you can transplant them outside in part shade, in well-drained soil (not clay). They like sunshine, but they like cool soil. Organic mulch will help that, but certain mulches can also harbor slugs, especially the coarser materials such as bark mulch or straw. Fine organic matter isn't as attractive to slugs. You can also try planting your sweet peas in containers outdoors, using the potting soil etc. that you have. In the heat of the afternoon, provide some shade for them, or wheel them into a shady spot. In the fall, you might try planting more seeds outdoors--they should flower in spring, just when it's perfect weather for them.

For more information about sweet peas, you might be interested in:

http://www.reneesgarden.com/ar...

For more information about how to control slugs, this video gives several tips and methods:

http://www.almanac.com/video/g...

And here are a few more tips on controlling slugs:

http://www.almanac.com/content...

Hope this helps!

I plant sweetpeas every

I plant sweetpeas every spring on the Victoria Day long weekend (live in Alberta Canada). I soul them in water for a day and plant about 150 seeds along my south exposure 8 meter fence with 2.5 meters high chicken wire. They take 2-3 weeks to come up and by August they reach the top of the chicken wire covering the whole fence. I water on a regular basis and clip the flowers for bouquets weekly. The fragrant aroma on a warm summer evening is great. Summer temperatures range from 9-20 degrees at night and 18-30 during day. Hope this helps.

I just planted sweet peas for

I just planted sweet peas for the first time, I also live in Alberta. When can I expect them to flower? Thanks.

Hi wondering about the Sweet

Hi
wondering about the Sweet Peas, I live in St John's Nl, i have planted my sweet peas just about 2 weeks ago and they are about 4 inches high. If you let then die off in the fall, have you known then to seed again and survive the cold harsh winter.

I have a lava rock area on my

I have a lava rock area on my side yard with a nice sturdy fence that I would like to grow these on so I can create privacy from my neighbors as well as keep the flies away that gather from them not picking up their dog waste so this spot would be ideal, however i don't want to remove all the rock, will I still be able to grow this in the ground dispersed between the rocks? if not is there something else you can recommend that will climb up the fence and will tolerate the lava rock

thanks

Yes, sweet peas grow in lava

Yes, sweet peas grow in lava rock. Good choice! In fact, sweet peas thrive with poor soil and like to struggle. Don't baby them. Ignore them!

Due to topography, etc, I

Due to topography, etc, I have a cooler side to my home. I have an area herein which receives full sun, BUT, by about 1pm, it becomes shady. MUST the sweet pea (and/or the Morning Glory) have full sun ALL DAY?

I live in mid Georgia (zone

I live in mid Georgia (zone 8a) and planted some sweet peas in early March, according to the recommendations on the seed packet. The plants are growing great but haven't bloomed yet (early May). I am getting married in early September of next year and wonder when is the best time to plant next year in order to have flowers available for my wedding. By my calculations, it seems mid-May would be the right time to plant to produce September blooms, but I think Georgia will be too hot for them to grow properly at that time. Any suggestions? Is this even possible, or am I setting my hopes too high?

Hi Lara, Most sweet peas grow

Hi Lara,
Most sweet peas grow best in cooler regions but there are varieties available that tolerate heat and grow through the summer. 'Zinfandel', 'Cupani' and 'Painted Lady' are just a few. Read our planting and care information above. You can test a couple of different varieties this summer to see if you can keep them blooming until September. One trick to get them to bloom for a long period of time is to keep picking the flowers and not let them go to seed.

Dear almanac team. I live in

Dear almanac team. I live in Cape Town South Africa . My husband has been planting sweet pea seeds with no show of germination. Very frustrating for him ! We have put seeds into peat pots, planted in various places in the garden and if we are lucky, one out of 10 might germinate . Please help . We would love to have these beauties in our garden this winter and spring .
Regards Sham

I have good luck with my

I have good luck with my sweet peas growing and climbing, what I need to know is what do I do with them in the spring. I have all the dead vines, do I cut them off, leave them or what?? I checked the other comments and unless I over looked it, I saw nothing on what to do with sweet peas in the spring??

Hi Carol, Sweet peas are

Hi Carol,
Sweet peas are usually grown as annuals. You sow the seeds in the spring and the plants will bloom and form seed pods during the summer. You can pick the seed pods when dry and save the seeds for the next year. In the fall pull the plants or cut off the dead vines.

Hi, my question is that I get

Hi, my question is that I get a good showing of sweet peas early on and then it seems like the stems turn a whitish color and they die....I live in B.C. thanks

Hello to everyone! I've

Hello to everyone! I've looked all over the internet and I can't find an answer...hope that you will be able to help me! So,there are both winter and spring varieties in lathyrus odoratus. I've grown my winter sweet pees (I 'm from Greece) and now I don't know if i must sow again Winter or a spring variety.What determines when to sow each one????I use them as cut flowers and now I must sow the next batch.Thank you in advance