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- You can't plant them outdoors until the last frost has passed
- Last frost is around mid-April in most of the UK, up to mid-or-late-May in colder inland Northern and Scottish gardens.
Sweet peas (Lathyrus odoratus varieties & their hybrids) are the perfect climbing annual: easy to grow on lightweight supports like bamboo canes and string, flower like fury, and a small bunch fills a room with the scent of summer.
They take up little space, can be grown in patio pots, and are self-clinging: fantastic plants, essential in every style of summer flower garden.
Your seedlings must be unpacked, watered, and either plants or put in a sunny place as soon as they arrive. If planting will be delayed, water them every 48 hours, but do try to plant them ASAP.
Please note that mail order annual plants are not covered by our guarantee, because they are supposed to last less than a year after you receive them.
- Order now, pay later: we don't charge your card until before delivery
- When your order is ready: your seedlings are delivered by next working day courier (not the next working day after ordering!)
- Friendly support: if there is anything wrong with your plants when you inspect them, Contact Us within 5 working days
What are Sweet Peas?
Lathyrus odoratus
- Uses: Annual flowering climber
- Good Points: Free flowering from May to September, scented, a wide range of colours, excellent cutting flower
- Position: Best in a sunny spot with rich, well-drained soil with climbing support
- Growth: Up to 2 metres
- Don't eat them! Despite the name, sweet peas are inedible and are not that closely related to the sugar snap or any other edible pea.
Buying Sweet Peas & Delivery
Seedlings are sold in Jumbo plug packs of four, sometimes eight.
Delivery is sometimes delayed by weather, but is generally between the end of February and mid-June. We will email you the likely delivery timeframe when you order, and again when the plants are on their way.
Annual plants are not covered by our year guarantee, because they are not supposed to last that long!
Planting Sweet Pea Seedlings
Set up the climbing support before planting, a wigwam of tall bamboo canes or hazel branches is great. Wire/netting/twine between the supports helps the stems spread out nicely. Prepare the soil well, incorporate plenty of well rotted organic matter.
In pots of at least 3-4 litres per plant, an ideal planting medium is 50% compost, 40% topsoil and 10% well-rotted manure. Plain general-purpose compost will do, but then feed it a touch more frequently in the growing season or you'll have fewer flowers.
Space seedlings 10-15cm apart and 5cm from their supports. Plant deep enough to accommodate the longest root and so the soil is at the level of the first side shoot.
As they grow, check for loose stems at least once a week and tie them into the frame or wrap them between supports so their self-clinging ability can take over.
Growing Sweet Peas
Sweet Peas are thirsty and hungry plants, so water well enough that the surrounding soil never dries out.
They will cope with a little shade, but flower better in full sun.
Pick the flowers regularly and deadhead the ones you don't pick, so that they do not form seedpods and thus stop flowering for the year.
As you collect flowers and dead head, tie in stray stems.
Sweet peas fix nitrogen from the air into the soil, so feed with a high phosphate and potash fertiliser (i.e. phosphorous & potassium) like Tomorite during the growing season, especially on poor sandy soil.
Why Choose Ashridge Sweet Peas?
- The best seeds are hand selected for sowing.
- They are grown in ideal compost, with gentle slow-release fertiliser: excellent root development, without an overly tall, leggy seedling.
- They are germinated in ideal conditions: large, airy, cool polytunnel. A touch of frost is allowed in, but it never freezes hard.
- We use special plugs from which their roots can grow away rapidly & deeply, without disturbance when planted.
- Our packaging gets your plants to you in top condition.