How to Grow Sweet Peas
Soil Preparation
Sowing
Planting
Plant Care
Pruning
Shop Sweet Pea Seeds at Mr Fothergill’s
Guide Chapters
- How to Grow
- Soil Preparation
- Sowing
- Planting
- Plant Care
- Harvesting
Your cart is empty
Continue shoppingIntroduce a brand new pop of colour to your cut flower garden and fill your outside space with a delightful scent that follows you from one corner to the next. A favourite amongst flower gardeners, Mr Fothergill’s sweet peas can be grown in a stunning variety of colours, including pinks, purples and lilacs. So if you’re keen to enjoy stunning, vibrant blooms in your garden, you’re going to need to understand how to grow sweet peas!
We’re covering everything you need to know, from when to plant sweet peas and when to sow sweet peas, as well as plenty of nifty little tips to keep your sweet pea seeds nice and healthy along the way. Take a look at our Mr Fothergill’s guide to growing sweet peas today!
If there’s one thing we can all agree on, flower plants that are this beautiful deserve a soil that perfectly suits their needs! Sweet Peas thrive in moist, well-draining, well-fertilised soil in perfect view of the sun.
Sweet pea seeds are really easy to sow and grow in your containers, pots, and flower patches! Not only that but they’re a stunning addition to the garden and carry an undeniably inviting aroma with them. So when is best to sow sweet peas?
You can choose to sow your sweet peas in both autumn and spring, either between October and November or January and April. If you do choose to sow them in autumn, it is important to keep them in a frost-free spot during those chilly winter months.
Sweet pea seeds tend to germinate nice and quickly - but if you feel like they need a gentle nudge, give your seeds a nick with a knife to encourage faster germination. Sow your flower seeds into a small plant pot, tray or container and leave them to grow in either a greenhouse or cold frame.
As soon as the frost has passed, it’s time to start thinking about planting out your sweet peas. You need to start by hardening off your seedlings by keeping them indoors for around two weeks to ensure they don’t experience cold shock when planted in the ground.
Sweet peas tend to take between 4 and 6 weeks to be ready for transplantation after sowing, providing that they have already developed a strong root system and look strong and sturdy enough to survive the move. But don’t worry, we’ve got some indicators to look out for:
When it comes to finally planting, you should space your seedlings about 8 inches apart, allowing for plenty of room for individual growth.
Maintaining your flowers is an important part of strengthening their growing process and extending the life of your flowers. In order to best support the growth of your sweet peas, tie any shoots that appear to be climbing to canes with twine.
Be sure to check the moisture of your plants every 3-4 days, especially during warm, dry days. It’s important to pour enough water to reach the very tips of the roots every time.
Monitor your flowers for dead heads most days and remove them as you notice. Deadheads can limit further flowering, particularly when seedpods are allowed to develop.
When your plants reach a height of around 4 inches, you can pinch out the shoot tips of your sweet peas. If you manage to keep on top of pinching out, your plants should have no problem growing strong side branches.
In order to achieve the boldest blooms, we recommend pinching out the tendrils of your strongest shoot to encourage your plant to focus its growth on this area.
What are you waiting for? Your growing journey starts right here at Mr Fothergill’s! Shop our sweet pea seeds today and let us help get your flower garden growing.
If you have any further questions about how to grow sweet peas or have curiosities about any of our other products, don’t hesitate to contact us or take a deeper dive into our gardening blog!
Flower Expert
When Pim joined Mr Fothergill’s, it was originally as a seed buyer, but now as our flower expert, he’s responsible for all horticultural and technical content, sharing his expertise in this catalogue, and through the growing advice and tips on our seed packets.
Leave a comment
All comments are moderated before being published.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.