Sweet Peas - the time is now!

It seems like every Spring I get a message or see a post from someone who wishes they could grow sweet peas. I always reply that you CAN grow sweet peas, we (Texicans) just have to plant them in the Fall.

Well, consider this a public service announcement. That time has come - at least in the Houston area. When Arbor Gate in Tomball has Sweet Pea seedlings, it's time to plant! Check your local independent nurseries, the resulting flowers and rich fragrance are well worth waiting for!! For those who want to try seeds, the packages say to plant starting in February, but they are not talking to us. They are talking to our northern brethren who will still have snow on the ground in Feb.

I'm planting 14 seedlings (divided between one arbor and one trellis), and will throw in a few seeds for fun. This Spring, Ella will be much more aware of these little pretties.

Good luck!

Which variety is it you have there Mary? Or can you suggest a few for us who have never planted them. I like the bold colors.

Mary I love that red one. Which one is it? I planted some seeds last week and will plant more this week. we are the same as you they are for fall planting!!

Hi Sheila! Hi Marie (cool, you really do hang around the TX forum!)

Oooh, you guys have got me there, I don't remember which one the dark red is, let me see.... (rummaging around in my bag-o-knowledge)... Nope, can't remember it. I'll check when I get home, I'm sure to have the information somewhere. Those were actually a little disappointing, hardly any fragrance at all.

The ones I plant the most are Painted Lady. They are really girlie girls, pink & white and a really heady fragrance. I'll post some pictures of those when I get home.

Also, I'll check to see the other two varieties of seedlings I'm trying this year, and the seeds. One of the seeds is a "bush" variety, only grows to 10" and is supposed to be good in containers. Ella is spending this weekend with me and that's one of our projects - planting some containers. Can't wait for her to get some good soil under her fingernails and experience the joy of gardening! :-)

I do hang out here, I just usually lurk. I told you Texas is one of my choices if I ever get move from here. I am so glad you get Ella this weekend. I expect to see some pictures of her gardening and enjoying the dirt!!

You can count on it!
:-)

Where are the pictures ???? :o)

Oops! Sorry, I promise to get them up tonight. I even pulled the tags from the other varieties, so I'll post those too.

I am talking about Ella!!!

ROFLOL!!!

Lol, I was ducking in and out so fast, I didn't know what I was responding to!

First some Ella pictures, then sweet pea info (Ella is my sweet pea.)

These are Ella's first gardening hands. Dirt... actually, soil under her nails, after potting up some snap dragons.

Ella sharing her garden bench with Bear.

Finally, Ella enjoying herself @ Panera (she's especially fond of their blueberry bagels and organic yogurt.)

We had a blast!

Okay, the other varieties of sweet peas I am trying this year are Mammoth Choice and Royal Mix (both 2" pots) and I'm also trying Royal Wedding (white) and Color Palette Cupid (the bush variety) from seeds.

These are some of the Painted Ladies from 2006, just about to open up.

Oh, and I found this old photo of one with a bee, from 2005. Older camera, the pic is kind of grainy.

She is adorable Mary!! It is so neat that you can have time to teach her about the garden.
I love Panera's soups and breads. Now that I am back to goal weight, maybe I can visit them again! lol!

My Great Nephew is enjoying gardening this year. He just turned 4 the 24th. I went down and put in a bunch of plants and some seeds with him this spring. I had fun teaching him how to plant and mulch etc. He talks about his plants all the time and wants everyone to "come see!". He had some zinnias come up from seeds and was so excited when they bloomed. He really loved Purple Heart because of the color and especially the softness of the leaves. He was here Saturday and I asked him if his Milkweed was blooming like mine. He replied mater-of factly, "No, I didn't milk it". It was all my we could do to keep from laughing at him. I couldn't bring myself to ask more about that!! LOL!
Enjoy the simple things and pray about the big ones!
Sheila_FW

I love that picture of Ella on the bench!!! Sheila your little guy is handsome!! I wish my little one's were into gardening . Not yet though my 4 yr old will leave me trails of flower petals when he is mad at me though.

LOL!! Give him a spot all his own and tell him to plant the seeds and plants. Then tell him if he waters them they will grow, but if he doesn't they will die; it is his choice. It is the joy of doing it together, the outcome is up to them and God.

Sheila, he is too cute! Lol, I wonder if he didn't milk the milkweeds because he couldn't figure out how? I'm trying to come up with a list of fast-growing annuals that are easy to start from seed, and then plant them in a couple of planter boxes with Ella next Spring. She even enjoys (or at least she points out) the trees and the leaves. She gives long discourses about them, but all I can make out is "trees" and "leaves" as she is pointing to them.

Marie, you'll need to find a way to turn that trail of petals from an angry gesture to something happier. Just think if he grows up to leave trails of petals for his wife. She will love you!

Not sure about the milking thing. lol!

Caden and his Mom live with my sister and that is where his garden is. They live out in the country and have rabbits, deer, armadillo and all the other things that disrupt a garden. It has been an experiment as to which plants survive. I was down there recently and saw his milkweed was still thriving so I gave him another when he told me his wasn't blooming yet.

Awesome sweet pea colors! None of our local nurseries sell plants - just seeds. Will have to try them soon!

~ Cat

Cat, I would get those seeds in the ground really soon. Sweet Peas don't care for our early summers, so they need time to mature before it gets too hot. Be sure to let us know how they do!

I will do that...gotta go buy the seeds first :o) I love that red one in your first photo...awesome! I remember they sell all colors...even dark ones like black.

~ Cat

Your Ella (aka Sweetpea!) is adorable! Love the photos of her and the real sweet pea plants, too :)

So, am I now too late in Houston? I had hoped to plant them on time this year, but maybe I've missed the right time again. We had them naturalize in my childhood back yard in Oklahoma City and I loved them so much!

I have a perrenial sweet pea that made it through our hot dry summer just fine. I would think you should be ok.

Ok - now I just need to find where I put the seeds!

Even though I bought sweet pea seeds, I still haven't planted them! I'm going to do so today anyway. As someone once told, they might be just fine if plant them now, but they for sure won't grow if I don't plant them at all!

I'd say go for it!

marieortiz
I'm interested in sweet peas and don't know anything about perennial sweet peas. Could you tell me if I should look for seeds or plants and how can I know when they are perennials not annuals? I want to grow some bush type and have found a source for seed that I will check on tomorrow. Thanks

Thanks Maggiemoo! You are so right - they won't grow if I don't plant them :)

lovediggin I just bought seeds that said perennial on them. I think I might of also picked up a plant at the nursery too. I just planted another mix of annual and perennials one int he las 3 weeks. Seems like a good amount of them are coming up!

maggiemoo, thanks for the information. I planted some sweet peas last spring and of course they did not do well. So, they do not freeze?

Shoot, I just saw this thread. Am I too late now to plant sweet peas?

Oops! I was AWOL for a bit. I'm just copying this from a dmail I just sent someone, the short answer is that I don't think it's too late, but I'd get to planting right away! The picture is of some seeds I soaked and then planted about 10 days ago, the picture was taken 11/14.

Here's what I said in my email:

I normally plant seedlings - usually from Arbor Gate - around the end of October. As soon as I'm aware that they have them, I run out to buy them and plant them. I have planted later than that, as late as the beginning of December, with no problem. The main thing is they need to have time to mature before our heat sets in, so it all depends on how soon it gets hot in any given year.

I plant them in the ground, but once planted them in containers, they did equally as well. The only reason I planted in a container that time was that I was concerned about digging holes for planting, right where I had some things already planted (vines that were "asleep" for the winter.) I just don't worry about it anymore, those plants are well established now.

This year, for the first time, I am trying some seeds as well. I bought two varieties at Arbor Gate, one is suitable for containers since it only grows to about 10", the other is a normal tall one, but all white. I soaked the seeds first, since the seeds have very hard shells and I was concerned they were already getting a late start (compared to the seedlings.) I actually let them soak longer than I should have before planting (I don't get home till dark these days) but the first batch I tried - the short ones - are now about 2" tall! Just a couple of days ago I planted some more of those and some of the tall white variety, these were a second batch of soaked seeds, again soaked for probably longer than they should have been. The white ones I just planted straight in the ground. They have a head start on sprouting, now I just have to be patient to see if they will poke their little heads out of the ground. I placed them between the plantings of the seedlings I bought, in all three locations. I figure if they make it, I'll be ecstatic. If the don't, it was an interesting experiment and the seeds don't cost much anyway. :-)

Htop,

I've never had a problem with them freezing. I don't recall ever covering them up for any of our few hard freezes.

Thanks for all of the information. I have seeds amd still have not planted them. I went to mt favorite nursery and asked if the had any seedlimgs and they said they have never had any to sell. I was hoping that they has some seeds for the ones that grow 10 inches tall ... no luck. Maybe I will find the seeds I bought last year. I planted too late last year and the plnats did not grow much much less bloom.

I bought seedlings at a local nursery (Another Place in Time). They only had two Painted Ladies left, so I got those and three Mammoth mix ones. I had talked to my neighbor about planting them since we share the fence. He turned up at my door with three more that he bought at Buchanan's. They were called Royal mix. So far, they all seem to be doing really well. I just can't wait for them to bloom!

Thanks for all the good info. I'm going to try them from seed next year.

Have just purchased seed but no sure where to plant. Do they need something to climb, such as fence, trellis? Full sun, partial sun?

They like the sun. I think the chain link in between the neighbors or the back fence would be good.

I tried growing them a couple of times myself. Buchanons use to grow them in front every spring up until a couple years ago. so I would try them at the same time without success.

Basically we get to grow all the northerns spring stuff during our winter!

Hi Miss MagieMoo!

Rj

Thank you, kind sir.
I have: Royal Family Mix
Gloria matutina Split Personality
Select Antique #470, Cupani's Original
Select Antique #164, Mollie Rilestone
Going to soak in water/peroxide and try to get in the ground this week.

My mother wasn't a dedicated gardner and yet she always had peony, iris, roses, and sweet pea. My dad was terrible. He liked everything swept clean and would accidently pull up her flowers as weeds.