Sweet peas in pots

I think the reason you don’t see bunches of sweet peas for sale these days is that, once picked, the flowers seem to die in about 24 hours. I bought a perennial Sweet pea plant a couple of years ago, but was disappointed that all the flowers are the same colour, pale pink, and have no perfume! They start to die within a day of picking them and only last two days max, most disappointed, not worth the space it occupies in the garden, so this year it is going on the compost heap!

I wss horrified to read of growing sweet peas that had no scent!! They are a joy I want every year of my life. Have grown many kinds in many places and yes have actually seen scentless sweet peas which were a very interesting colour , but could not allow myself to buy such things!! The scent of my childhood. My grandfather was a good and keen gardener, but mostly a veg man. However his tip which worked well on all fronts was that he would have a row of runner beans and at each end grew sweet peas. They encouraged the pollinators and my granny got lovely perfumed flowers to enjoy each day. I have actually had someone say oh dont grow those they drop off too quickly, well if you gather them every day they are such a joy. transient though they are , and sometimes knowing they will not last makes you appreciate them more for that moment of the day. as for types I would be at the harrogate flower show each year checking up on new varieties, but their choices dont necessarily match the home grower. They want show blossoms on long stalks etc. But I want the best perfume and the greatest variety of flower and dont care about the stems bending a bit. To me the very simple child like bunch where you just collect all the flowers that are ready and then put them into a container and let them go as they will and I just love the mass of beautiful blooms to enjoy. When you find the perfume you like grow whole loads to enjoy. For me the prize winner is a gorgeous vase of wonderful perfume that I have grown myself and get to enjoy and give me loving memories . I hope I will still be growing them to my dying day and that if it is the right season they can go on my coffin. (you might think I am a bit keen ?)

Thank you all for tips.

Paperbackwriter, I bought some specially deep starter pots for the purpose.

I’ve grown SPs in big pots before, but it was years ago when I had a lot less time. They didn’t do very well at all but that was probably because I wasn’t watering or feeding them enough.

GrowingOldDisgracefully, during the first lockdown I grew tomatoes from squished-out supermarket tomato seeds. They mostly germinated and grew well enough - perfectly healthy-looking - but the flavour was very disappointing.

Love sweet peas! I grow mine in toilet rolls filled with potting compost, as they have long roots. I plant them out in various pots dotted about the garden, so grow different varieties. My favourite is Matacuna - pink and purple mixed - lovely scent and seem strong and sturdy.

Just to add re tomatoes, I first grew them when we were living in Oman. Couldn’t buy seeds locally so I got my mother to send me a packet of Gardeners’ Delight cherry toms.

They grew very well in the heat - we had masses - but our mostly Greek Cypriot neighbours (we were all expats) scoffed like mad at the size of my tomatoes - ‘Like grapes!’

That is, until I started giving them away - we had so many - one of the former scoffers asked me for some seed, the flavour was so good!

I have only ever grown them in pots - they have always been fine.

madeleine45

I wss horrified to read of growing sweet peas that had no scent!! They are a joy I want every year of my life. Have grown many kinds in many places and yes have actually seen scentless sweet peas which were a very interesting colour , but could not allow myself to buy such things!! The scent of my childhood. My grandfather was a good and keen gardener, but mostly a veg man. However his tip which worked well on all fronts was that he would have a row of runner beans and at each end grew sweet peas. They encouraged the pollinators and my granny got lovely perfumed flowers to enjoy each day. I have actually had someone say oh dont grow those they drop off too quickly, well if you gather them every day they are such a joy. transient though they are , and sometimes knowing they will not last makes you appreciate them more for that moment of the day. as for types I would be at the harrogate flower show each year checking up on new varieties, but their choices dont necessarily match the home grower. They want show blossoms on long stalks etc. But I want the best perfume and the greatest variety of flower and dont care about the stems bending a bit. To me the very simple child like bunch where you just collect all the flowers that are ready and then put them into a container and let them go as they will and I just love the mass of beautiful blooms to enjoy. When you find the perfume you like grow whole loads to enjoy. For me the prize winner is a gorgeous vase of wonderful perfume that I have grown myself and get to enjoy and give me loving memories . I hope I will still be growing them to my dying day and that if it is the right season they can go on my coffin. (you might think I am a bit keen ?)

Madeleine45 Thankyou. I couldn't have put it better myself. There is no perfume better, they will fill the room with their scent. Choose the perfumed ones, I start them in pots on a windowledge in April. Put in pea sticks to tie them up gently and harden them off before planting out at the foot of tall canes. They don't last long when cut, max 48 hrs, but there will be a profusion of more to pick by then. Most beautiful flower on God's earth!

I feel scolded by a couple of posters for buying scentless sweet peas. ? In my defence, I had never bought them before and just picked at random in the garden centre. I am promise to do better. ?

I grow the perennial pea too ! Accidentally of course ? now I can’t get rid of it , it gets mildew , it strangles other plants , I pull it out as soon as I see it

Grandmabatty just ignore the naysayers. Perennial sweet peas are beautiful, and they last longer as cut flowers than the annual ones. They come in lots of different colours, and they are a lot less labour intensive, you can just leave them to it all season. I’ve got both types, and love them all.

Thank you Casdon. I do agree that sweetpea scent is gorgeous and I was so disappointed that I'd bought non scented ones, but I love picking them for the house all summer.

I remember being told years (or decades) ago that the way to encourage lots of flowers is to cut some everyday, so make sure you have plenty little vases for them.

I'm in Australia and have just missed the proverbial sweet pea seed planting day: St Patrick's Day, instead the seeds are soaking in water and will go today. Other planting dates are the Queen's birthday for tulip bulbs, and Melbourne Cup for tomatoes.

I'm planting some sweet peas in one of the veggie beds, at the end where there's a permanent frame. I'll try out the growing in a pot (great advice here) for the front garden as the beds are given over to perennials and herbs due to the unforgiving Australian sun.

I grow sweet peas, both in the ground and in very large pots. The scent is Devine.
My pot grown ones are in the courtyard and as others have said require very large pots,45/50 cms, humus rich compost and kept well fed and watered. As they also need very regular watering, I put a large plant pot with good drainage holes, in the middle, fill the compost around it and then plant up in the usual way around the edge.
Then I fill the middle pot with water, it acts as a water reservoir and as long as it’s filled the plants don’t dry out. Once a sweet pea has been deprived of water, then it can’t be revived and dies. I feed mine with tomato feed, again through the reservoir.

Mine have all self seeded from last year and growing away in the garden about a foot high now much to my surprise

Mine have been shooting up, and we have a bit of warming-up weather, so the first half dozen went into their big pot yesterday. The other 7 would have gone, too, but I got distracted into some long overdue tidying and pruning, which was discombobulating the birds, since I had to move their drinking water/baths, and was working too close to the feeders.

So it’ll be the other lot’s turn today. I’ve pinched out the tips so ?.

I planted my veggie patch sweet pea seeds today and already I know it's too soon. So warm. I'll plant the container ones at the end of April.

On the allotment, my neighbour there always feeds his sweet peas once a week with diluted seaweed feed until the flowers appear, then swaps to tomato feed. His sweet peas are pretty good. BUT, I never feed mine at all, and mine are good too!