Sweet Peas: Sowing, Care And Varieties

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

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Overview of Sweet Peas

An openwork gray-green wall with a cloud of multi-colored moths on it. The breeze will blow, the cloud will move, it seems that now hundreds of moths will fly up, but no, they all sit still, but the aroma will fly up and dizzy. These are sweet peas.

Now, when everyone is trying to fence their gardens with a metal mesh, sweet peas have found their place in the garden - they climb the mesh, clinging to it with their antennae. Here he shows all his charms. The flowers are exquisitely shaped and often look like adorable butterflies.

Their colors are very diverse - from white and cream to pink of various shades, from the most delicate blue to dark purple and maroon. They have a subtle scent. Each variety has its own shade of aroma and its own color of flowers. Peas bloom from July to frost.

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Sweet peas or fragrant rank is an annual herb of the legume family. Its origin is unknown. Sicily is considered the homeland, because it was from Sicily that this plant was brought to England in the 17th century. For a long time, sweet pea flowers were outwardly of little interest. However, at the very end of the 19th century, large-flowered mutants were discovered in the thickets of sweet peas.

They laid the foundation for breeding work with this extraordinary flower. The direction of selection was in the direction of increasing the size of the flower, enhancing the pleasantness of the aroma, and also searching for combinations of color and shape of the petals. To date, more than 10 thousand varieties have been created, of which a dozen and a half varieties can be found on our market. The height of plants, depending on the variety, ranges from 30 to 250 cm.

The wide variety in the kingdom of sweet peas allows you to grow it in different flower beds. They decorate walls, gazebos, pergolas, verandas. Low varieties are planted on beds and in mixborders, the smallest plants feel good on the balcony or in a flowerpot. Sweet peas are also grown for cutting in open and protected ground. Varieties with a large peduncle length - up to 50 cm are valued here.

They make very beautiful bouquets, delicate and unusual, even suitable for weddings. And this is despite the fact that in the “language of flowers” the symbolic meaning of sweet peas is “I don’t believe you”! Flowers cut for a bouquet are very sensitive to dehydration; you need to change the water in the vase where they stand more often. The flowers are sensitive to ethylene, so they should not be placed near a vase with ripe fruit.

Sweet pea is a light-loving and cold-resistant plant. Seedlings tolerate frosts down to -5 ° С, and hardened seedlings - up to –3 … –4 ° С. Peas bloom profusely in cool and even cold rainy summers. In hot weather, plantings need to be watered vigorously, otherwise the flowers become smaller, flowering may completely stop. And in general, in hot dry summers, the buds often fall off, and the flowers look unattractive. Excess moisture in the soil is even more harmful: plants do not grow well and may die.

Sweet pea agricultural technology

Sowing

Sweet peas are propagated by seeds. They can be sown directly into the soil as soon as the soil warms up. This usually happens in early May, throw 2-3 seeds per hole.

However, in this case, it blooms late - only in August, because its growing season is quite long - 50–80 days. Therefore, it is better to grow sweet peas through seedlings. Seeds are sown in late March - early April in pots, 2-3 seeds per pot. If the seeds are your own, and their good germination is guaranteed, then you can sow one seed per pot or cup. Before sowing, seeds should be poured with hot water - up to 60 ° C - and left for a day.

Then drain the water, cover the container with seeds with a lid or foil so that they are wet and at the same time do not suffocate without air. You need to keep them like this until they bite. Then carefully, trying not to break the sprouts, plant them in the ground to a depth of 2–2.5 cm. You can sow without waiting for the seeds to hatch. The sprouts will appear in a few days.

You can expect seedlings for two weeks. This is normal. If the seeds are completely fresh, then they are soaked for 2 hours, or they may not be soaked at all. When sowing, you need to pay attention to the acidity of the substrate in which the sowing is done: it must be non-acidic. In an acidic substrate, even with good care, seedlings grow extremely slowly.

When the plants reach a height of 5–7 cm, tall varieties need to make a support to which they can cling to so as not to fall. At a height of 10 cm, plants are supposed to be pinched so that they branch better.

In mid-May, sweet peas, after hardening, are planted in a permanent place. They do this carefully, trying not to disturb the earthen lump, because if the roots are damaged, it is difficult for plants to take root and may even die. Even with an intact lump, they survive the transplant for two weeks, stopping their growth for this time.

But still, plants grown through seedlings bloom earlier than when they are directly sown into the ground. When planted in a permanent place, the distance between two plants is 20-40 cm, depending on the variety. Tall varieties that occupy large volumes, when they grow, are planted so that 1 m? accounted for four plants.

Location and soil

Sweet peas require a sunny location protected from the wind, only very light shading is permissible. He prefers moderate humidity in air and soil. It blooms well if the soil is fertile, breathable and deeply cultivated - at least on a shovel's bayonet. It is better to choose light, neutral soils - pH = 7.0–7.5. On acidic and heavy clay soils, the appearance of the plant will be unattractive. Do not add fresh manure to the soil before planting. In this case, fungal diseases are provided to the plant.

It is better to choose a place for planting sweet peas in the fall. They bring in half a bucket of compost or humus, superphosphate, potassium salt for digging. If necessary, the soil is limed.

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Maintenance

Dry heat requires regular watering. Water the plants at a distance of 20 cm around the stem so that the soil near it does not compact. After watering, be sure to loosen the soil.

During the period of active growth, seedlings of peas are fed with organic (chicken or cow) or nitrogen (urea, ammonium nitrate) fertilizers. Before flowering, feed with full mineral fertilizer. The very first buds are removed. A very important point in care is the regular removal of wilted flowers so that flowering does not stop. A few beans of your favorite varieties can then be left for seeds.

In order for these clouds of scent to amaze with their beauty, you need to put supports for them - a grid, slats or something else, for which they could cling to with their strong antennae. The support must be placed two weeks after the emergence of seedlings or planting of seedlings so that the stems do not fall to the ground. Plants need to be guided along the grid as they grow in the direction we need. They dutifully follow the directions indicated.

In the fall, when everything has faded, and a wall of sluggish stems remains, you need to remove it all in a compost heap or, crushing it, bury it in the beds under vegetables.

Varieties and groups of sweet peas

The varieties are combined into several garden groups depending on the height of the plants and the beginning of flowering. The most common group we have is Spencer. Strong stems up to 200 cm long. The flowers are large, with a wavy edge, 3-5 in the brush. Peduncles are long - up to 25 cm. This pea blooms in early July, even at the end of June. Flowers of pure colors, from white to dark purple up to 4 cm in diameter. A lot of varieties of this group are known. A mixture of colors is often on sale.

Galaxy group - plants with many stems up to 180-200 cm tall, leaves are large. Flowers up to 4 cm in diameter, soft cream, blue, fragrant, sometimes double. Peduncles - up to 40 cm, this pea blooms later than the previous group.

The Rufled group - vigorous plants 130–150 cm high. The flowers are large, beautifully shaped, 6–10 per inflorescence. Blooms early. The flowers are, depending on the variety, soft lilac with dark veins or bright carmine with a white tongue at the base, with a delicate aroma.

The Cupido group - plants are undersized, strongly branched with pubescent stems. The flowers are large, the peduncles are strong, long.

There are other groups with flowers that are original in shape and color. New varieties also appear. For example, a new variety of Nimbus has recently appeared with very large flowers of an unusual silver-striped color with a purple-chestnut shade - this is a breakthrough in the selection of sweet peas.

In recent years, perennial sweet pea seeds have been on the market. These are tall plants, their flowers are smaller than those of the annual species, they are almost without aroma. Plants suffer from our changeable winters, so they don't live with us for more than 2-3 years.