Sweet Pea Plants for Sale

Root Trainer Grown Sweet Peas

Sweet peas are the perfect annual. They are easy to grow, they flower like fury and a small bunch can fill a room with the scent of summer. They take up very little space, can be grown in pots as well as borders and given suitable support are self-climbing and self-clinging.

Sweet Peas in Summary

• 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

Order Sweet Pea Seedlings

Choosing, Planting and Growing Sweet Peas

Choosing Sweet Peas

The best sweet pea seedlings are sown in late autumn so they can overwinter (as nature intended). They are grown in root-trainers to build deep roots as they go so that by the time they are planted out there is a considerable engine to drive the tremendous growth and flowering you will see in summer. They are grown from the best seed; we use seed from Roger Parsons, who as the holder of the National Collection of Sweet Peas probably knows more about this than anyone else alive. It is sown in the best compost in late autumn; we use peat free compost from Melcourt with a slow release fertiliser to keep those roots going until they are planted out. And they are germinated in ideal conditions; a very large, airy polytunnel which is cool, is allowed to be touched by frost but never freezes hard. All which pretty much describes why you should choose these sweet pea seedlings - they are simply the best...

Planting Sweet Pea Seedlings

Set up a support for the peas to climb on before planting. Then plant your Sweet Peas in well prepared, moist soil containing plenty of organic matter (ideally incorporated the previous autumn). You can also plant in pots of sufficient size - allow 3-4 litres per plant - and with an ideal planting medium of 50% compost, 40% topsoil and 10% well-rotted manure. General purpose compost will do however but produces fewer flowers.

Space each plant about 30 cm apart and about 5 cm from its support. The hole should be deep enough to accommodate the longest root and the soil should come up to the level of the first side shoot. Use wire/netting/twine between the supports so that the Sweet Pea can climb naturally. You will still need to tie them into the frame. They grow fast, so check every ten days or so.

Growing Sweet Peas

The principal requirement is enough water - Sweet Peas are thirsty and hungry plants. So water well; the soil around sweet peas should never dry out. They also need light; sweet peas can cope with a little shade but flower better in full sun.

As the flowers develop pick them and then pick again, otherwise they start to form seedpods. Never let that happen as they will stop flowering altogether. Keep tying in and picking for as long as you can. See the website for more advice on training sweetpeas.

To maximise flowering, feed with a high potash and phosphate fertiliser during the growing season. (Sweet Peas actually fix nitrogen from the air into the soil so you don't need more of that.) Home-made comfrey liquid or Tomorite are both ideal - and necessary if you are on sandy soil.

Buying Sweet Peas

The best plants come from the best seeds which is why we get ours from Roger Parsons. Our seedlings are grown in root-trainers and are sold in packs of four with quantity discounts as you buy more of any one variety. Delivery is when the plants are ready and the weather permits but is generally between the end of February and the end of April. We will, of course, email you to let you know your Sweet Peas are on their way.