Behind the Myths Is an Easy-Growing Sweet Pea

In the Garden
September 14, 2000
by Robert Smaus

Myths and legends surround the sowing and growing of sweet peas. Many were first spun when showing sweet pea blooms was almost a competitive sport in England, with gardeners fiercely competing for flower show awards. That's where farfetched ideas like pruning sweet peas to a single stem came from. Or the advice to dig a trench as deep as "the bottom button of your waistcoat" when you're standing in it.

 As sweet peas have become popular in Southern California, we have developed our own myths, and some of them are just as farfetched and illogical, especially if you're just trying to grow a few flowers for the center of the dining room table.


Myth No. 1: Sweet pea seed must be sown before Labor Day. That's only if you want flowers in time for the winter holidays. This information dates back to the early days of gardening in this state. In the 1940 classic "The Garden Beautiful in California" (Times Mirror), Ernest Braunton said of August, "This is the best month for sowing sweet peas for winter blooms. If left until next month, they will not bloom until spring." But, note that they will bloom--just later--and, actually, quite nicely.

You still have all of fall and winter to plant. Another classic, "California Garden Flowers" by E.J. Wickson (Pacific Rural Press)--this one from 1915--suggests planting early kinds in October for February bloom, "or you can get a wealth of bloom on all varieties in May by sowing the seed in December and letting the early rains do the irrigating for you."

Seeds sown in early spring (January and February) will bloom just as long as you plant early enough so flowers can open "before the hot and dry weather sets in," according to Wickson, because sweet peas are a cool-season annual in the Southland.

As for blooming in time for the holidays, Renee Shepherd of seed supplier Renee's Garden in Felton, Calif., suspects that only certain varieties will bloom in time if planted before Labor Day. Winter Elegance is one she thinks has a good chance, though the old books do not specify certain varieties. This could be another sweet pea myth--I'd like to hear from gardeners who have managed to get flowers by Christmas. You can write or e-mail me at the addresses shown at the end of this column.

Myth No. 2: Frilly Spencer types from England are the best sweet peas. They have been the most requested kinds these last few years, but they may not be the best choice for inland gardens. According to Pat Sherman of seed supplier Fragrant Garden Nursery in Canby, Ore., Spencers only bloom when the day length is quite long, and by then it is often too hot in the inland valleys. Spencers seem to do best grown near the coast in Southern California.

However, the "Old-Fashioned" and "Italian" types, the Royal Family and Cuthbertson strains, and good old Winter Elegance, all bloom when days are shorter, so they flower before the heat sets in. These would be good choices inland, she says. The flowers are a little smaller and are usually not ruffly, but they are more fragrant, often powerfully so. "They can really perfume a room, " said Shepherd.

Some brand-new crosses from New Zealand--Cheri Amour and North Shore--supposedly combine the qualities of both groups.

Myth No. 3: Sweet pea seed must be soaked overnight in a dish of water before planting. Shepherd disagrees and thinks that it is too easy to forget and "over soak" the seed. She never soaks seed before planting, and neither does Sherman, who sprouts way too many seeds to lavish this kind of attention on them.

If you can't get seeds to sprout, you may be planting in a too-dry soil or are sprinkling too often. The old-time garden books such as Braunton's suggest thoroughly wetting the soil to a depth of a couple of feet, several days before planting. Then sow the seed and don't water again "until the plants are up an inch or two. This is how to grow the best sweet peas." Wickson says to let "the hose run," then sow seed a few days later and "let it be for several days."

It's hard--darn near impossible--for a gardener to sow seed and not water, but if the soil was thoroughly wetted to a depth of several feet before planting, enough moisture will wick its way up to the seed to sprout it. You can try other methods of watering, but the important points are not to sow seed in a dry soil, and don't keep it so wet that the seed rots.

If seeds still refuse to sprout for one reason or another (give them two weeks), simply plant more. Snails, slugs and cutworms are often the reason seeds "don't sprout"--they do but are immediately eaten. Be sure to bait for slugs and snails before you sow the seed, or sow it in little pots that are kept safely above the ground. To avoid cutworms, the old gardening books suggest planting sweet peas in soil where nothing else has recently grown.

For a most elegant sweet pea garden Renee's Garden would be very much advised http://www.reneesgarden.com/