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

Pick them off by hand.

Pick them off by hand. Attract birds to your garden. And spray with Neem Oil!

Can I plant the seed pods

Can I plant the seed pods from wild sweet peas in my yard for next Spring? If so, when and how should I plants? Thank you!

Sweet pea pods burst open

Sweet pea pods burst open when dry, throwing their seed out so you want to collect them early. Allow to dry in a bag and store in a dry, cool place so the seeds don't rot.

This is the second year with

This is the second year with my sweet peas,,very pretty..now producing pods and I expect seeds will fall to the ground for next year..do I cut the vines - I did not do this last year but they are 6 feet now. Thanks

Congrats on successfully

Congrats on successfully growing sweet peas. According the the WSU Clark County Extension experts, "Deadhead spent flowers and remove seedpods to promote re-bloom. Once sweet pea plants diminish, simply cut them off at ground level, leaving their nitrogen-fixing roots in place to benefit their neighbors."

I have several annual sweet

I have several annual sweet pea plants and I have kept on top of the dead heading to the extent that the plants are now quite denuded of any flowers at all. Does this mean it is time to dig up the plants and throw them away or will/might they enjoy a second coming?

Deadheading should have

Deadheading should have prolongued the blooming; for sweet peas, you cut off the entire stem. Eventually, all sweet pea plants come to the end of their flowering life. Spent flowers would form seed pods if they were allowed. If you've been deadheading all along and the blooms have stopped, it's safe to say they're done.

my sweetpea is producing

my sweetpea is producing seedpods instead of flowers, what can I do to get it to flower again?

Sweet peas do not like

Sweet peas do not like extreme heat. Also, to keep them flowering as long as possible, you have to continuously pick them.
Good luck!

I planted an abundance of

I planted an abundance of Winston Churchill sweetpees beginning of june for our wedding which is on sep 21st. They plants are already a good 15 to 20 inches tall. no sign of buds yet but they must be on their way! Do you think they will still be flowering come sep 21st? Is there anything i can do to prolong the blooming period apart from dead heading them?

I planted some bush sweet

I planted some bush sweet peas in a hanging planter in early spring after the chance of frost was over. They sprouted when they should and took off like gang busters. They are supposed to grow 6-12 inches but have tripled that. I still don't have any flowers. When can I expect them? I fertilize with Miracle Grow. Thank you!

HI Patty, It takes 50 to 75

HI Patty, It takes 50 to 75 days to bloom. We're not sure where you're from but the trick to sweet peas is to plant well before the heat comes: October or November for milder winter areas and late April in cold winter areas. They need about 50 days of cool temperatures (under 60º F) to bloom. If they don't flower, it's the heat.

I have planted sweetpeas in

I have planted sweetpeas in my flower box on the balcony. The lower leaves are yellowing and drying off. What do I need to do for them.?

It could be a fungus issue or

It could be a fungus issue or a root issue. You could take a sample to your local cooperative extension for a diagnosis. Be careful not to overwater. Sweet peas prefer dried-out soil. Water when the leaves start to wilt.

I've had quite the luck with

I've had quite the luck with sweet peas, they germinated in about 1.5 weeks indoors and are steadily growing. Just put seeds in seed starting potting mix and I can't wait for them to bloom! They grow quick!

sweet peas

i am growing sweet peas but how long does it take them to grow

The days to maturity for

The days to maturity for sweet peas depend on the variety but it ranges from 55 to 70 days. Once they bloom, they keep going. Bloom time is often 8 weeks!

picking sweetpeas

Is it true..for more more blooms keep them picked?
Snails? slugs? have a pine tree around Use the fallen needles as a mulch around your plants, snails & slugs will stay away.

For sweet peas, just deadhead

For sweet peas, just deadhead the flowers when they fade. That will produce more blooms. If the plant starts to create seedpods, you'll have less blooms.

sweet peas

Thank you for the info, Love these flowers planted for the first time last summer kind of late and still got some flowers , I wont miss a beat this year on them LOL...

sweet pea seedlings

THANK You!! I'm about to plant some sweet pea seedlings which I started indoors (it's a long story). Fortunately, I logged on to learn about proper pinching, and in the process discovered that I need to protect my young'uns from slugs (which we have in abundance). I'm so grateful to have learned this from you before I put them out. Perhaps we'll have flowers instead of heartbreak...? We shall see. Love You, Dear Old Farmer's Almanac.

Facebook

It is nice to have found the almanac on FB, so much fun & so exciting, all the great information. Thanks!