Cultivation advice

The best time to sow sweet peas is from week 12 in southern Sweden. Then they will bloom just in time for midsummer. Read our growing advice carefully before you start.

Sweet peas are an outdoor plant. Grow them outside in flower beds or in a large pot on a balcony or terrace if you don't have access to a garden. It is easier to succeed growing them in flower beds.

Please read our growing advice – but as a guideline, plant about 1-2 cm deep.

We advise against direct sowing in open ground because the seeds are very attractive to mice and birds.

Sweet peas thrive where it is airy and cool. Plant freely, for example in the vegetable garden or flower garden. They want good air circulation and do not need sun all day. They need a 'climbing platform' to grow against and should be tied up as they grow. If you grow them against a south-facing wall, there is a high risk of aphids. It will simply be too hot.

No, we do not recommend soaking the seeds. This increases the risk of the seeds rotting.
The advice to soak comes from the time around the turn of the last century (1890-1920) when sweet pea seeds were grown in California and had very hard shells.

About 15 cm. A good trick is to use the distance between your thumb and index finger when they are fully extended.

Sweet peas thrive best in well-fertilized planting soil, preferably peat-free. If you are growing in a pot, it is especially important to use well-fertilized soil.

Sweet peas love fertilizer! Cow manure, horse manure and compost as a base fertilizer before you plant the plants out. Chicken manure, golden water or bokashi work great – but use what you have available, it will still be good.

With sharp scissors or secateurs, preferably in a bathrobe on a warm summer morning with a cup of coffee close at hand. Bring a small bucket of absolutely clean water to put the flowers in to 'drain' them all at once. Let the flowers stand in a cool place for at least 4 hours before arranging them.

The more flowers you harvest, the more new flowers will appear. Be careful with fertilizing and watering if it doesn't rain.

Sowing from week 12 will give long-lasting flowering, as long as you maintain the plants with water and fertilizer. You have to pick the flowers all the time. The more you pick, the more they bloom.

Yes, sweet peas tolerate cold well and can withstand temperatures down to about 8 degrees below zero. The cold makes the plants plump and strong – they actually feel good about it. The flowers themselves can withstand temperatures down to a few degrees below zero in the fall.

Store the seeds in the freezer, and they will often last for more than 50 years. This is the same principle used in the seed bank in Svalbard.

Snails don't like sweet peas that have come up a bit. Deer like sweet peas. Try Trico Garden or bone meal – it works in most cases.

You don't have to do that, the plants will branch naturally.

Sweet peas like to climb. You can use most things you have available. Reinforcing mesh, trellises, chicken wire, cut (long) branches. Keep in mind that the plants can get very tall. Feel free to use tying rings .

If your plants are getting tall and lanky, they have been left in too much heat or have received too little light. We recommend that you put them outside when they are about 5-7 cm tall – then the plants will be plump instead of lanky. It doesn’t matter if it is cold outside.

The most common is the wrong temperature, too deep seeds sown or too wet or too dry soil. Sow about 2 cm deep in evenly moist (not wet) planting soil and place at room temperature. Remember that mice love sweet pea seeds. It is therefore unsuitable to sow directly outside as the seeds are desirable to mice and birds.

The plants are too dry and too hot. Aphids are especially common when growing in pots. Spray off with a jet of water, pinch off severely infested tops, spray mild soapy water on the underside of the leaves and repeat.

Pick more often, fertilize evenly (not just nitrogen), keep the soil moist. Too much heat/drought and not picking will stop flowering. The plants will set seed instead.

Improve air flow (thin, tie up), water at the root – not on the leaves – and remove affected leaves. Maintain a consistent, non-nitrogenous, fertilizer. Grow in partial shade or dappled sun. Sweet peas thrive best in cool weather.

Yes, sweet peas can withstand a lot of wind – but they need a support to climb on.