I grew one sweet pea last year that was started in the winter by a friend. I put it by the fence post in my veg. garden. It grew about 5 ft tall and bloomed the first part of August.

S Pea seeds are sold at most nurseries, Cub foods, box stores, discount stores, etc.

This year I tried to winter sow sweet peas. One seed germinated right away but nothing from the ones I winter sowed or put in a wet paper towel. Maybe they need to be nicked. So, I will have one sweet pea again. It is a variety that can be container grown so will stay short and more compact.

A friend of mine has a whole patch that comes back each year (we live a good hour north of the twin cities). I collected seed several years ago and forgot about them.
This past winter I winter sowed them (there's another forum on here with details on how to winter sow stuff so I'll point you there for more info). And I have oooodles of plants.
This friend has his planted in a pretty shady spot. There is a area about 3 by 3 feet of them and they seem to be growing bush like. I'm guess they are coming back from seed each year but I do not know for sure.
I'm planning to find a fairly shady spot (probably under a tree) to plant mine out. So we'll see if I can get them established.

So, maybe winter sowing some next season would work for you :)

I used a nail file to file a bit off the seeds that were just sitting on the wet paper towel and doing nothing. Today I saw a little white emerging from the seed. Will plant them tomorrow.

More questions:

mnwsgal - I'm curious about where you planted that winter-sown seed in your veggie garden last year, what kind of sun was it getting? Full sun? East (morning sun only), south (full), west (afternoon/evening sun)? It intrigues me that dirtbert's friend got his/hers to grow in shade (and got lots of blooms?) That's why I'm curious what kind of sun mnwsgal's got last year.

I might try both winter sowing and starting them in a few large containers as well and put them out during the day and bring them into the garage at night.

August blooms? Wow, has anyone had theirs bloom earlier than that? If that's the case, since they hate weather over 85 degrees, I'm surprised any made it that long to bloom.

mnsgal - looks like you did the right thing by nicking them and having them in the paper towel. I tried seeds in early May - I nicked them, soaked them for a couple hours in warm water and put them in the ground. Nothing came up. I realize now I should have left them to soak for about 24 hours.

I got pre-grown plants from Bachman's in Eden Prairie - that was the only place that was selling them. They almost didn't make it. I figured out the reason why was because the root system wasn't strongly established. Now it is and they are about 3 feet high. I could swear I'm seeing some buds - they aren't like the buds I was seeing for leaves which aren't tight and point straight up, these are tight and actually pointing almost down!

Please keep me posted mnwsgal and dirtbert on how you (and your friend) are doing with growing them - I look forward to hearing what's working for you, even the nurseries can't really tell me and it does seem this plant is more finicky than most in how it must be done. Since I'm a beginner, I'm not used to winter or container growing yet, so I want to try to get a success first before trying the harder stuff. I'm just used to planting petunias and other annuals, clematis, and daylilies! So this is quite a stretch for me.

Wherever possible, I want to avoid containers, however, with winter sowing of sweet pea seeds, how tall will the plant be in June and when do the flowers typically start blooming?

I tried sowing seeds in a pot outdoors in May. They did not germinate, must have rotted.

Last year's sweet pea was grown in afternoon/evening sun and the hot days did not bother it at all. I am going to try growing these in the ground in a shaded area.

My friend has had them established in this shade garden for years (20+). And they bloom beautifully. I haven't been over there for a couple of weeks, but when I was there last they were at least 2 feet tall.

I'll have to check it out more and see when they bloom/color/ and if they die back much in the summer heat or how early in the fall.

Ok everyone, I have buds, tons of them, I'm so excited! But I'm dying to know - how long will it take before they bloom??? Please do tell, I'm starting to collect vases...

I've tried and tried and have only had a couple of true blossoms...dirtbert, what do you have them trellised on? I have mine on my deck, both in a container against the railing and in a hanging basket (what grows up should trail down, right? LOL)...both just little, under a foot each. Morning sun--as I thought they needed partial shade. Now I'm thinking..maybe not?

I wonder if the success/failure is at least partly because of the variety? I know that some are labeled as 'heat resistant.

Hi, hopefully we'll get an update and more info from dirtbirt. I know I tried to grow mine in a container on the deck, but I had the intention of transplanting last year and it didn't work out. I'm sure the pot wasn't big enough, I probably had too many in there, and I know my deck was probably too hot for the roots (those roots seem to be very delicate and finicky). Not sure about the hanging plant, I'm hearing other gardeners online say that they try to train them to grow straight and that the plant likes a lot of air. When I got my pre-started plants from Bachman's I planted it, then cut 2 out of the 3 vines away at ground level, planting them about 12" apart (being told not to separate them before planting or pull them out after planting because the root is so touchy and doesn't like to be disturbed). They are very bushy now and starting to touch each other.

I've got mine on the south side of the house in full sun. I just got 6 ft bamboo poles about 4 feet apart (2 vines per section), got some netting and twist tied them to the bamboo sticks. I wish I would have invested in sturdier 8 ft. poles, but I only got 4 plants this year to experiment on, so I'll try it next year. I think mine are now about 3 feet tall and full of buds. I just noticed today some of them are starting to split, so I hope to see blooms sometime next week.

kdrjl, have you already had blossoms this year on your vines? or was this in prior years? I have tried for several years with no success until this year, although never successful from seed and I did not try hard at that.

Tip I read yesterday: the pastel colors seem to be more heat resistent than the bright colors like reds and oranges. I'll be curious to hear what colors dirtbert and his friend have and if they're blooming now. I'm very jealous that his friend hasn't had to do anything - that they self-seed, *in the shade*, and his plants are probably taller than mine! What a dream come true.

I can see that my plants are definitely pastel color, so that may be why they are holding up very well yet even though it's consistently going over 85 degrees and in full sun.

Hmmm, I just read the seed selections from fragrantgarden.com - looks like there are dwarf varieties that are good in containers and as hanging plants. So what do I know? :)

I hope you are talking about Annual Sweet Peas. I follow my Dad's advice......soak the seeds at least 24 hours. I start mine in 2 inch peat pots about the middle of April. My Dad never did start his early. He swore by throughly rotted horse manure and really dug in to a depth of 12 inches. Then in that space he dug his trench about 6 inches deep. Soaked and planted his seeds in the bottom of the trench, and gradually filled it in as they grew taller. They seem to like a cool soil but sun , so then he mulched them about 4-5 inches deep . You must provide a fence or support for them to climb. I use a piece of old fencing as their tendrils will climb it easy. Don't forget the water ! Fabulous blooms and such a great smell. Hope this advice helps .......Good Luck !