Climbing pea - red

Lathyrus odoratus - Red

Originates from southern America. Sweet pea is a climbing plant. It grows up to 3 m in length. The flowers come in shades of pink, purple, blue to black, or are white. It blooms from July to August. Its flowers are not only beautiful but also pleasantly fragrant.

The flowers are cut for vases - they last up to 7 days and scent the entire room. The plants are used to create a quick visual screen - on pergolas, fences, in containers. If you plant sweet peas in a hanging container, you can create a trailing annual!

How to Grow Sweet Peas

• Plants require a sunny and warm location. However, they cannot tolerate direct sunlight heat. Generous watering is also essential on hot days. Sweet peas do not tolerate waterlogging. Each year we plant them in a different spot in the garden. Plants are planted near a support. They create a quick visual screen. If they grow without support, they trail along the ground. To ensure abundant flowering throughout the summer, it is good to regularly remove spent flowers.

• Seeds are sown as early as March to a depth of approximately 3 centimeters. We place at least 3 seeds in one hole. Individual sweet pea seeds are planted at a spacing of 10 x 10 cm. It is advisable to plant sweet peas next to a prepared support.

• They do not tolerate heavy and waterlogged soils. They also do not thrive in dry and nutrient-poor soils.

  Nutrient-rich, medium-heavy calcareous soil is suitable.

• Fertilize the plant regularly. Compost is ideal, for example. Remember that sweet peas enrich the soil with nitrogen, so do not over-fertilize with nitrogen-rich fertilizers!

• Plants are not usually affected by pests and do not suffer from any diseases. In case of insufficient light or excessive moisture, fungal diseases such as powdery mildew may appear. Treat plants preventively and curatively with fungicides.

• In autumn, collect the sweet pea pods with seeds. These can be sown again next spring.