Oh my, Sweetpea!
Prepare for plant’s season now
It was in the gardens of late Princess Diana’s childhood home, Althorp House, where the sweetpea variety we know — for their pretty late winter flowers in the pastel shade version of all colours of the rainbow — was first nurtured into being.
More than 120 years ago, Althorp House head gardener Silas Cole developed the long- stemmed delicately scented Lathyrus odoratus. Combining the plants with seeds from Sicily, Silas crossed the variety “Lovely” with “Triumph” and from the few promising seedlings which grew, he used them to cross with “Prima Donna”. This resulted in the plant which was much stronger than the other seedlings — and which he named “Countess Spencer”.
He was much pleased with the large frilly petals of “Countess Spencer”, which were of a much stronger plant, far outshining those first discovered in Sicily.
How to plant sweetpea seeds
You may choose from the bush variety which requires no staking — or the climbing type, which creates a “wall of colour”.
Choose a sunny, sheltered spot for the sweetpea garden bed in a northto-south facing direction. If you wish to grow a “wall” of climber sweetpeas, rig up a firm support of about 2m high using vertical posts. You may use this as a frame to attach plastic or chicken wire.
But you might find it necessary to attach two to three horizontal supports between the vertical posts. A multi-stemmed branch will also suffice, instead of the netting.
If your garden is small, you can create wigwams using eight bamboo canes or straight sticks. Bunch them together firmly at the top, securing them with string. Space the bases of the canes out at regular intervals into the soil, to create a self-supporting structure. Beneath this you will have prepared a circle of soil which includes the whole area covered by the wigwamshaped support. Depending on the size, plant about two seeds in the ground at either side of an upright support.
The best site is in an open area in your garden where the sweetpeas may enjoy plenty of sunshine and air flow between the plants. A lack of airflow will often result in the leaves developing powdery mildew.
Dig a trench which is 25cm wide and 50cm deep. Test to see if the soil does not drain easily. In this case dig the trench to 75cm and lay pebbles at the bottom to assist with drainage. Top this with soil.
Separate the top soil from the bottom soil and add well-rotted manure or compost to the top soil, as well as 2:3:2 fertiliser or an organic equivalent.
Throw in a handful of bone meal along the length of the trench at a rate of one handful per metre.
Replace the soil in the trench and water it thoroughly to enable it to settle.
Sowing the sweetpea seeds
Soak the seeds in damp cotton wool overnight. On planting, make a furrow about 8cm deep, and then poke individual holes that are 10cm apart with a pencil for the seedling. Drop the seeds into the holes. Cover them over with soil and then water the bed thoroughly. Germination will take seven to 15 days.
Water the germinating seedlings regularly. When the top of the soil becomes dry, water them again. You may test their need for water by inserting you finger into the soil. If it is dry the seedlings need watering.
If you are not growing your sweetpeas from seed, but rather growing them from seedlings, plant them 15cm apart.
Train first shoots up the wire netting, attaching the tendrils to the supports to encourage healthy growth. When the stems reach a height of 15cm, pinch out the tips to encourage bushier growth.
Sweetpeas are ever-hungry vigorous growers. This means they require much food and water. Water the plants weekly and feed them with liquid fertiliser.
Allow each plant to have two to three side stems. Nip off the branches close to the main stem. Take care not to nip off the growth tip of the main stem as it will stunt the height of the plant.
You may extend the flowering time of your sweetpeas by removing spent flowers regularly — and when seed pods are produced, remove them too.
Sweetpeas are social flowers and usually such prolific bloomers that you will be picking bunches of their colourful bounty to share with everyone. Picking the flowers encourages the plants to produce more of them. Clip stems for indoor arrangements when the flowers are half open.
Save the seed of the strongest plants for planting the following season.
Allow the seed pods to dry out on the plant before removing. If not sufficiently dried, lay them in the sun on absorbent paper.
Break open the pods and store the seeds in jars until the next planting season. The first few seasons of planting these saved seeds will produce the same quality of plants as the first season, but after a few more seasons, they will not.
Sweetpeas are leguminous plants which add nitrogen to the soil. Following a crop of sweetpeas, you would do well to alternate use of the garden bed to grow a leafy vegetable crop such as spinach or lettuce, rather than immediately replanting more sweetpeas (as the increased nitrogen content of the soil will mean they will have more leafy growth and fewer flowers).
Avoid watering the sweetpea plants in late afternoon or evening as sweetpeas are inclined to be troubled by powdery mildew. Rather water them in the morning. Take care that your toddler does not show any interest in the seeds as they are poisonous to them.
● In the Garden’ is written by feature writer, garden enthusiast and former schoolteacher Julia Smith , who has returned “home” to Chintsa East. The column looks to inform novice and accomplished gardeners how to make the most of their green patches. Julia is currently away, this column is pulled from our 6 March 2121 archive.