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Plant Profile Sweet PeasHow to Grow, Care for and Maintain Lathyrus Odoratus in the Garden
From heirloom cottage gardens to today's modern landscapes, the twining sweet pea adds colorful fragrance to any home garden space.
Fragrant and easy-to-grow, Sweet Pea (Lathyrus odoratus) has been a part of heirloom cottage gardens for centuries. New varieties make them more accessible than ever allowing home gardeners choices for containers, small garden spaces, vertical accents, cut flower gardens and more. Botanical and Common Name: Lathyrus odoratus is commonly called sweet pea. Plant Category: Sweet peas are cool season annuals. Bloom Time & Color: Sweet peas bloom late spring through the summer but in very hot climates flowers will fade in intense heat. The flowers are usually fragrant and come in many colors and bicolors except yellow including purple, magenta, pink, white, rose, red and blue. Foliage: Dark green leaflets make these twining vines look bushy and full in growth even when sweet peas grow very tall. Growth Habit: Most sweet peas grow with a natural twining or climbing habit although some of the newer cultivars only grow 8” tall and do not need support of any kind. If sweet peas are not given a support to climb up they will grow as a spreading ground cover. Dimensions: Dwarf cultivars grow only about 8” tall while climbing varieties grow up to 10’ tall with support. Sweet peas are a great choice for adding vertical accents to a garden. Preferred Conditions: Sweet peas prefer cooler temperatures and will quickly fade in blistering hot summers so while most areas should provide full sun, afternoon shade in hot areas will prolong the plant's bloom time. Sweet peas need lots of fertile soil so provide rich, organic filled soil and fertilize twice through the growing season. If you grow sweet peas in a container you will need to water regularly and carefully since the vines need regular moisture. Maintenance: Sweet peas make great cut flower bouquets so deadheading happens easily and naturally as gardeners cut handfuls to bring inside and perfume the house. Fertilize container plants twice a month since sweet peas are such heavy feeders. A thick layer of mulch will help keep the plants evenly moist as well as protecting the roots from summer heat. Pests or Diseases: Sweet pea plants are susceptible to mildew if grown in overcrowded conditions and can also attract aphids. Water plants carefully to keep the water from splashing up onto the foliage to help prevent mildew. Propagation Methods: Sweet peas grow readily from seed and in many areas will reseed themselves each year providing gardeners long-lasting color for minimum investment. In areas with fairly mild winters gardeners should sow seeds outside in the late fall when they plant their spring blooming bulbs. Otherwise gardeners can plant in early spring, even before the last frost date, with little problem. Soaking seeds or scoring them will increase the germination rate. Companion Plants: Grow sweet peas with other cut flower plants or in cottage gardens with heirloom flowers and herbs. Seasons of Interest: Sweet peas provide two or three seasons in interest in the garden depending on how they fare during the summer heat. Uses in the Garden: Use sweet peas on a trellis, wall, fence, post, mailbox or other vertical structure to add upright accent and color to the garden. Smaller varieties do well in containers, as hanging plants or as sprawling ground covers. Sweet peas are also an important part of fragrance gardens, and attract bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. Other Uses: Sweet peas are popular cut flowers and should be cut when the lowest flower on the stem is just beginning to open. Varieties & Cultivars:
The copyright of the article Plant Profile Sweet Peas in Annual Plants is owned by Angela England. Permission to republish Plant Profile Sweet Peas in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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