sweet peas in western nc

I have been in WNC for a year and have so much to learn. I have gardened for 30 years, but in Alaska, the Rockies, and the Northwest. I am not used to the humidity, nor the heat. I want to grow sweetpeas, but do not know much about timing here in the mountains. Any tips?
Thank you!
Nancy

I know they do well there have seen some fantastic ones but I am afraid I could not tell you when to plant them. Surely someone from WNC will chime in with that info.

It is so much warmer here, I plant mine on or around Christmas Day; they are already about 4" tall and looking good.

Wow, that's a paradigm shift! It never occured to me you could plant anything in the middle of the winter. I do hope someone can fill me in on what to do here.

Hi Nancy,

Sweetpeas like the cold .. I've got a few coming up. Normally in the more temperate zones they do best if planted in the fall. I planted mine in November. You can winter sow them for zone 7. Go on and plant them in a pot or where you want them to grow. Cover with some plastic wrap if they are in a pot and check on them every couple of weeks.

X

Hi, Curious Nancy!! I am so glad to meet you!
What is your zone? I am 7a, at 2000 feet elevation,
and am trying to get in step with shorter growing
season than I used to have in Georgia.

I dearly love sweet peas, but find growing them to
be tricky. They love coolness, we hear, but I lose
them to hard spring frosts.

I am going to try the "winter sowing" . That is what
we call planting in a pot and covering with plastic
(be sure to put small air holes in the plastic) and
putting the pot out in the elements. I did that last
year, and the seeds germinated, but I wasn't alert
enough to rescue them from the pot in time. The
seedlings became most unhappy This year, I
aim to plant each seed in its own cup so I won't
cause distress with transplanting.

Did you grow sweet peas in Alaska and Rockies??

I have another "issue" in my garden, which I hope
you don't have! It is disease. I have been able to
sucessfully grow only one kind (so far) of English
pea, the one that is touted as most disease resistant,
and that is Maestro.
Fitsy




.

Fisty
Greeting, I am in Andrews just across the mountain. Have you found Lewis Nursery yet? It is in Hayesville. Go all the time. It is a beautiful place with great plants.
Cheers
Gary

I am still trying to figure out what zone I am in. It used to be 6, but in recent years seems to be nudging toward 7. It changes according to where I look it up.
I grew up in Northern California, and grew sweet peas there in the spring. I couldn't sow them too early or they would rot. In Alaska I grew them through the summer, and as it is technically cool all summer, they did well. In the Rockies I lived at 7000 ft, and was unable to grow much of anything.
I guess I will try sowing the peas now and see what happens. Last spring was such a late snow, I just don't know what to think.
Thank you for the input!
Nancy

Gary-in-Andrews - HELLO!! (I'm sorry that I
didn't check back in this thread sooner)
YES about Lewis Nursery - I love going there.
.I am tickled to find you so close! We can truly
compare notes!
Do you grow edibles?
Fitsy

Fitsy,
Hey, Don't grow many edibles basic things Tomato, a few peppers, squash, cucumbers. Just enough to out and get some for dinner from time to time. Mostly do flower gardening.
Gary

I've about decided to not do peppers this
year because of disease. They get big black
cankers. Nobody will want to trade any plants
with me!! Ditto eggplants.

A couple of years ago, even my GREENS had
black slimy areas, so I asked the county agent
to come out. He carried off a leaf, and phoned
to advise me to spray with copper. He said that
organic gardeners use it. It did work for that.

Last summer, I took several diseased tomato plants
to him, and he said they had spotted wilt virus, for
which there is no cure. But I got enough to eat and
can anyway.

A person at Lewis Nursery told me that they are
going to sell only knock-out roses in the future. But
those don't have perfume, I think. So I have ordered
a couple of rugosas. Most of my other roses died or
are not happy.

Gary, I have gotten "mushroom compost" from both
Blairsville and Murphy, and I am wondering about
getting some more. Would you mind telling me what
you think about it???

I also get "mulch" from Hayesville dump. Have you
used that??

Fisty,
Haven't gotten mulch from the dump so don,t know much about it. However the mushroom compost is great from Waynes feedstore in Murphy. it's a mix of composted
chicken manure and musroom compost. Have used it every spring in the gardens.

HI Nancy,I am most likely closer to you than the other members.I live in Millers Creek,just outside of Wilkesboro. I would consider,Canton to be in zone seven.I don;t plant peas until the first of March and just direct sow them in my garden.They like the cooler temps.You should have a little cooler temps than I do at that time,with your being in a higher elevation than I am. I don't really see any need for you to sow your peas in pots.I hope this helps you,and Welcome to NC

Thank you, Rosella! I will try sowing them in March. I think I am just going to have to try things and see how they do. Zone 7 does seem close, I worry about the last snows, though.
Thank you!!!