Sweet pea, magnificent annuals

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Sweet pea is a flower that we indulge in all summer long.

A summary sweet pea facts

Name – Lathyrus odoratus
Family – Fabaceae
Type – climbing vine

Height – 6 ½ to 16 feet (2 to 5 meters)
Exposure – full sun
Soil – ordinary

Foliage – deciduous
Flowering – May to October depending on the variety

Its finely drawn flowers and its delicate fragrance makes it one of the most beautiful annuals.

Try growing sweet pea once, and you will never regret it…

Planting, sowing sweet pea

Even though sweet pea isn’t a very demanding plant, it still is at its best in rather rich soil.

If you purchase your sweet pea in a nursery pot, don’t transplant it to the ground until the end of spring.

Sowing sweet pea from seed

If you’re looking to sow your seeds yourself, sow directly in the plot as soon as spring arrives for it to bloom in summer.

• If you sow any earlier, best anticipate and sow under cover.
• Soak your seeds in water for 12 hours before sowing them to trigger their waking up.

A good combination is to sow some of the seeds in a sheltered spot in winter, and the other part at the beginning of spring, directly in the ground. That way, you’ll have two different blooming seasons.

Pruning and caring for sweet pea

Remove dead flowers as they appear, in order to boost flower-bearing during the entire blooming season.

• Tether the sweet pea stems to their lattice or poles to help them climb.
• Check that your plant isn’t run over by slugs.
• In case aphids start attacking, here is what you need to do to fight against aphids.

All there is to know about sweet pea

Sweet pea is sold both as annuals and perennials (this depends on the climate since it dies when freezing occurs) and has very beautiful pink purple flowers.

This fragrant plant adapts perfectly to growing along a lattice to which it will bind itself to, covering a wall or turning into a very fragrant miniature hedge.