I don't know why it wouldn't work. Sweet peas produce tendrils which can cling to anything thin. Can you give a link to your source for that info.?

Thanks, Floral_uk, - just click on the word “this” in my original message.

I contacted Gardeners Supply Company about the piece (it's on their web site) and they wrote back "Sweet peas like to climb, and smaller openings
may cause them to wrap their tendrils in too small of an area, slowing
their growth."

I have tried two sizes of plastic netting, cotton string, welded wire mesh in several sizes, and trellises.

IME plastic netting is a disposal issue. I compost yard waste and separating the vines from the plastic netting is difficult and typically damages the netting so that it needs annual replacement. I haven’t noticed that it slowed growth in the slightest. I prefer either cotton string since it is compostable and I can just dump the string and vines in together, or green colored welded wire fencing which is commonly found at various heights at big box stores in their garden department or at farm stores. It is not damaged when I remove the vines and so can be rolled and stored for next year.

I also prefer the larger mesh for anything that I might pick such as veggies or flowers for bouquets. In those cases, just large enough to allow my hand or at least a few fingers through is my goal. Often vines manage to wind through to the back side, and it takes contortions to get around to the back if the openings are too small to reach through.

I had to go check mine.......it is nylon netting with a 2" grid on an a-frame support. Last year was my first season with it and it worked well enough but I would have preferred smaller openings. 2" is a lot of distance for the tendrils to travel and I found I had to go out and guide the growing shoots on pretty much a daily basis. In previous gardens, I grew sweet peas on strings set up in a zigzag pattern on a wooden frame and that worked perfectly. But I no longer like to play the carpenter so opted for the pre-made trellising :-) And the daily checking and guiding of new shoots (and picking, once they begin to flower) helps me to remember to keep spraying the deer deterrents!!

I really wouldn't worry about it. If you've already bought the netting use it. I've used all sorts of supports over the years including tree prunings and mesh fencing.

I got trellis netting called Hotonova by Tenax. I'll be planting my seedlings in the next few days. This will be my first time growing ornamental sweet pea. Will report back. Wish me luck.

You will love them!! They are my favorite annual and the only plants I bother to start from seed. Just keep cutting the blossoms for indoor enjoyment and they should continue to bloom until the weather gets too warm.

ok, I have 16 seedlings, started indoors in late February, now planted in the garden. I did a very improvised trellis for them to climb up on. I just pounded three 7' posts into the ground about 5 feet apart, and then stapled the Hotonova trellis netting to them. My worry is that I don't have a crossbar at the top; is that going to be ok? (Ignore the white vinyl latticework behind it - I put that up a few years ago for morning glory which I'm not growing this year; I know the sweet pea tendrils won't be able to grasp onto that.) Thanks for any advice.

They'll climb that easily.

Thanks, floral_uk. I assume people put up a crossbar for a good reason, presumably to keep the weight of the vines from bringing the whole thing crashing down. Do I need to be concerned about not having that?

Can someone give me a sense of what is a good vertical height for a trellis for ornamental sweet pea? How high can/will they climb? Thanks.

Depends on type - regular sweet peas can easily reach 6', perhaps a bit more. But there are also bush types that seldom reach as much as 3'.

ok, thanks much. These are regular sweet peas. So a 7' post dug a foot into the ground should be perfect. The other thing I'm wondering is: how important is it to have a crossbar at the top?

A crossbar would be useful but not vital if the vertical posts are solidly planted. A string between the poles and threaded through the top row of holes in the netting would be sufficient. Sweet peas aren't heavy vines. The foliage is not thick.