Sweet pea growing guide 🌿 The best smelling flowers!

[@drummerlovesbookworm9738]

My mother was the “Queen of Begonias and Sweet Peas.” My Dad prepped her trench in the Fall with manure and loam so it was ready for early planting. She always planted her sweet peas on Washington’s Birthday. We celebrated Washington’s Birthday with a cherry pie and the sweet pea planting. 🤎All summer she brought bouquets into the house nearly every day! She used to freeze her sweet pea seeds in ice cube trays. Then she planted the ice cubes and quickly covered them to control spacing! It worked like a miracle until that one year I came home from school and made a pitcher of koolaid.....😂😂

[@gavinmillar7519]

Great story!

[@iamthebrandquebonita]

Hilarious 😂

[@ArtByKarenEHaley]

February planting, good to know. what zone was the garden in? cold zone? I'm in Zone 7 haha.

[@drummerlovesbookworm9738]

@@ArtByKarenEHaley Zone 8. Seattle!

[@RealBradMiller]

Mmm, pea cubes. Delicious! 😂

[@chandrikatilwalli4741]

This not fair Erin! You got me hooked on to Dahlias and now sweet peas! What’s next?! No end in sight!❤️

[@TheImpatientGardener]

Clematis is next :) It's The Impatient Gardener Trifecta. :)

[@kimbussey731]

Love Sweet peas, my grandma would plant them every year for me, April baby. Now that I am retired and I growing my own Sweet Peas.

[@vanessaeden8174]

If you don't have root trainers, sweet peas grow well in toilet roll tubes which you can plant straight out into the ground when they have reached a reasonable height as the roll will bio-degrade.

[@NeccoWecco]

Thanks! I wish I saw this post when I planted mine!

[@alsouthall4885]

I picked sweat peas in flower fields for my mom when I was a child. I lived in a town called 'Lompoc' or The Valley of the Flowers. We have a Flower Festival each year in June. (Jamie) C.B.

[@anshardeman3967]

I am almost 62 years old but this really reminds me of my childhood (my grandparents had them in the garden), and can still smell in my head ... such a wonderful air, flower with full colors and looks great in a garden

[@lorindachristine3291]

I walked through a friend's garden last year and fell in love with the most amazing smell....it was her sweetpeas. So excited that mine are growing already for this year! Thanks for the great video!!

[@TheImpatientGardener]

That smell! Once you experience it you never forget!

[@jaimechamberlain3890]

I'm growing sweet peas for the first time this year! No seed soaking or nicking. Just potted them up in moist soil in tall containers and put the seeds in my cold, dark, attic. Ten days later, boom! Almost 100% germination. They're about 4" tall and I can't wait to see them bloom! :)

[@flacountrygal]

Watching from a zone 7 and was laughing for a moment cause I was like "Great she skipped us, that can't be good" haha.

[@echo1020lukka]

This is an extremely well done training video.! Thank you Erin for sharing your sweet pea wisdom with us.

[@lauriesickles5393]

Just started my sweet pea seeds, so excited. First year growing them. They are something my grandpa always grew!

[@carladurand1583]

I just planted my first sweet peas too. They're 10 " tall now and I don't know if they'll thrive here in Central Florida. Sure wish they would!

[@cynthiafisher9907]

We have wild sweet peas on our property that come back every year. They’re pink and they don’t smell like cultivated ones do. I guess SW Idaho is a good place for them to grow! I’m planting several varieties.

[@kathy8832]

Now I'm going to buy Sweet Pea seeds. Looking forward to planting them.

[@sweetalyssum3004]

I am growing sweet peas for the first time this year. I have a variety for hanging baskets and a larger variety I will try in large containers. It would be great if you made a video when you pinch them back. Thank you for all the great info!

[@emptynestgardens9057]

Oh thank goodness!!! I planted all my sweet peas yesterday and then realized I forgot to soak them. I contemplated digging them out of the dirt today, now I feel safe leaving them be. 😁 Thanks Erin!

[@bryonyhellis]

I’m from the UK and we love our sweet peas! I tried them last Summer here in USA zone 8b and I definitely started them too late- they did fine, but fizzled quickly in the heat. This year I have them already an inch tall and in the coldframe. I started so many- goodness only knows where I’ll put them...there are worse problems 😉🌱

[@lsherylc2524]

I'm starting toooooo late, but want to so bad lol 9 B. What's a cold frame? :) thanks

[@bobbiechinn9578]

​@@lsherylc2524unheated greenhouse essentially

[@MrDego87]

I am going to plant some sweetpeas seeds purchased from the local nursery today. This is a new flower to me. Never see one before.

[@stuartanderson7671]

Never grown sweet peas, now after watching your video I will be be growing them from scratch, hopefully with good results.🇬🇧🇨🇦

[@jennifergrassel1097]

Sweet peas are a must. Usually I just grow big box store, off the shelf variety mixes. This year, I’ve gotten some specific varieties from Floret and I’m pretty excited. Most of my previous sweet peas have been pastel pink & lavender and I’m excited to try some hot pink/cerise colors plus the deep dark purples and I have a nearly blue variety as well. I always grow them in my veggie garden so I can smell their heavenly smell while I do mundane veggie tasks. Here’s to happy sweet peas!

[@sherrywalker4619]

Thank you so much for showing us the butterfly! What a sign of spring! Your enthusiasm is contagious and we so appreciate that!

[@melissamiew4056]

My yearly flowers of choice are Sweet Pea, Morning Glory and Bachelor Buttons. Must haves.

[@georgina928]

This is great! Trying Sweet Peas for the first time this year. Keeping my fingers crossed 🤞.

[@BroadwayGardener]

I LOVE this video! I also just realized that I have ruined my sweet peas for this year 😂 (Started inside in plastic pots, roots facing up.... NAILIN' IT) I saved your video to make sure I do it right next year. and those root trainer pots are PERFECTION

[@bloomsbyamelie]

ERIN!!!! I have been gardening for over 25 years. I was fascinated by gardening at a young age. The first time I heard of Sweet Peas was watching Martha Stewart Living. Although they are so pretty in bouquets, they never appealed to me as a garden plant. Well today my friend you have convinced me to grow sweet peas. I want to introduce more things in my garden besides abundant flowering and beautiful foliage. The fact that these have a heavenly scent (I'm embarassed to say I have never smelled a real sweet pea)- I am sold. So I bought three packs of mixed sweet peas. Sugar and Spice (pinks); Little Sweetheart Mix (pastels) and Ocean Foam (purples). Some I did as a winter sowing method- the remainder I will start in trays. Thank you so much for this informative video! Now I need to figure out where to plant them in the garden!!!

[@juliepizzolato1911]

I soooo appreciate your very clear and concise presentations for all your tutorial type videos. I absolutely love direct "plain speak" and your links for products are extremely helpful! Thankyou most sincerely from North Idaho zone 6a 💚🌻🌿

[@claragoforth3645]

I am doing a hanging basket with a dwarf variety multi-color collection and I can’t wait!

[@donbirkholz6842]

I grew some dwarf sweet peas last year. They only got 8 inches tall and would make a great potted plant one could bring onto the table for meals and returned outside.

[@nicolechew1029]

Such great info! And Erin, your hair! 😍 I tried growing sweet peas for the first time last year. I planted the seeds in a big pot that had some daffodils in it from the spring. They sprouted and grew about a foot...then I went on vacation. I put a call out to my neighbors to ask of anyone could water while we were gone, and to my surprise and delight a master gardener said she would! when I got back everything was fine except for my sweet peas. She missed them in the watering. So you're right, if you don't water them that is pretty much the end 😅😭 I also didn't realize they wanted it cool, so I think I planted them too late as well. Thanks for a great video!!

[@terrimarks3694]

Woohoo! My first year growing, because your introduction is irresistible! Thank you!

[@leahkrotz935]

This was helpful! I've grown sweet peas at our old house but we've now moved back to the farm where I grew up. Last summer, I noticed masses of sweet peas growing wild in the ditches beside a gravel road. There had been a homestead there at one time. So in the fall, I collected a bunch of the seeds and I'm going to plant them. I figure if they can survive for decades unattended in a ditch, they should be fine in my garden! My favorite thing about them was that they continued to bloom all summer long with no supplemental water or care. My previous sweet peas could never make it through the hottest parts of summer.

[@susankilpatrick2918]

Perfect timing Erin! Such a great video. First timing growing from seed.

[@little_miss_muffet]

Giving sweet peas a go for the first time this year! Have had great germination success and enjoying watching my little seedlings get bigger by the day. Can’t wait to plant them out next month and for the first flowers to appear :)

[@mdiaz4734]

I’ve never grown, or smelled, sweet peas. I’m very excited to have just gotten a bunch of seeds from floret. I’ve actually never had much luck with starting seeds inside. I started my seeds about a week ago and my fingers are crossed! I’m also trying nicotania. I’m so excited for spring! 🌸😁🌸

[@vanessaeden8174]

The scent of the sweet pea is one scent perfumeries cannot truly replicate, although there are Sweet Pea perfumes you can buy.

[@alissaeyre8302]

You are going to be so blessed! Sweet peas have the BEST scent!

[@TheCabinHill]

I really enjoyed this "how to". Your explanations have the perfect combination of thoroughness and inspiration. Thank you for sharing your experience.

[@pennywomack8920]

I’m growing them this year for the first time. I’m so excited! I never thought about just using bamboo - I was thinking I had to create this elaborate fencing system 🤦🏻‍♀️ ... thanks for that information! 🤪

[@momcation9786]

Thank you so much for your tips in growing sweet peas! I grow them every year and is quite successful with them. As you suggested pick them as they flower to encourage more growth. I’ve made a lot of friends sharing sweet peas! Thank you again!😊

[@space_stac3795]

First year growing sweet pea...they are already sprouting. Yippee

[@margaretkingi9024]

I'm in New Zealand and I'm going to have sweet peas growing in my garden, I had forgotten how beautiful they are in looks and smell. Thankyou

[@diedragarlock2076]

Paused the video to run downstairs and trim my sweet peas! Thanks for this video. Learned a lot.

[@annetterummel607]

I'm growing sweet peas too. My Dad was magic with them...he didn't even try and they just bloomed and bloomed. Me not so much so this was very helpful! Thanks for sharing!

[@jenwinters1342]

I am brand new to this. Haven't planted anything yet. Just trying to learn some tips. Im choosing Sweet Peas as my first plant, because I used to call my daughter Sweet Pea. She passed away 2 weeks ago so I'll be planting these in her memory. I'll have to wait for a month or so because I'm in Florida and it is hot!

[@Thegroovygardener_]

I love sweet peas so much! I feel like mine are doubling in size every day under my grow light :)

[@Mortallifeonearth]

The perfect primer to growing sweet peas from seed! Thank you so much!

[@karinchristensen220]

I couldn't find trainers last year (and they are still sold out now) so I saved all of my paper towel rolls all winter (I use a lot of paper towels) and plan to bunch them up in a plastic pot. They are longer than toilet paper rolls so I hope they will work. Even if they disintegrate too soon the roots should hold together. I have never been able to get sweet peas to germinate in the ground so I gave up on them until I watched your videos. I think I'll also use the pre-sprouting method. I can't wait to see if they will grow. Thank you!

[@hannahmiller429]

Yay, this came in perfect time. Half of mine just germinated. This is the first time growing them so I'm looking forward to the scent😍 I am growing Mark Harrod from Floret Flower

[@kimedge7493]

I just planted orange and dark blue sweet peas today here in Iowa City. I soaked them overnight. I got them for a Ukrainian seed seller on Etsy, Elenaseeds. I erected bamboo stake teepees over them. I have some little cute terra cotta pots so I'll try those on top as finials too. Right now the stakes are just tied at the top. I"ll have to put some fencing around to keep the rabbits away. Thanks for the advice. You are fun to listen to.

[@rena6430]

Ok ok.... you inspired me to plant my sweet pea seeds collected from last year.... I have dug the volunteers and transplanted them... they look pretty sad so I sniped off the tops gave them some food and sang them a growing song and crossed have my fingers...lol😂 now I have a plate of seeds sandwiched in paper towels sitting on my kitchen counter... I’ll get them into the ground in 3 days! I do love the fragrances... my Daphne is blooming now and my stalk too... lovely fragrances there too!!! Thanks Erin for the push I needed... ps I have my first asparagus shoot showing! Very exciting!!!

[@Annathranholm]

You look so springy and beautiful. Thankyou for all of your tips Erin 💐

[@heather4346]

Thanks for the great details and tips. My aunt sent me some seeds that are fourth generation in our family starting from my Great Grandmother's sweet peas. Hopefully I will get them to be as beautiful as the ones I remember as a child. I have a Christmas cactus from my Great Grandmother on the other side of the family and it was beautiful this winter. So grateful to have something to keep all four of my Grandmother's memories alive.

[@daiseegray9110]

Sweet peas in my top 5 favorite flowers. 🌸

[@gildamolinar5155]

My sweet peas just started to bloom, love the scent.

[@GavinAndShea]

Ok you got me, I bought my first pack of sweet peas to try! Best wishes, Dorothy

[@heidismidansky2471]

I pre-sprouted my sweet peas for the first time last year per your recommendation & they did great! Thanks for the video!

[@mmladyg]

Crossing my fingers. Planted my sprouted seeds 3 days ago. Relieved to see that greening end can also be covered...some of mine were just a hair overdue too. And that beefy root! Can't wait. Thanks for covering details.

[@ib-fine]

My favorite smell flower of all time

[@juanadennis1444]

I tried a 25 cent pack of sweet peas last year. Surprisingly had about several survive my chucking seeds in a pot, grow and smell lovely. So with your encouraging and informative video I'm starting a couple more mix varieties. Can't wait to see and smell them.Thank you

[@sisterinspeed]

I'm growing them for the first time, great video, thanks!

[@ninawill8053]

Ok now I am intrigued and have to start some just to see how they smell, I don't care if only one makes it as long as I can smell it lol. I am in same zone as you and as you know we go from winter freeze to scorching humid hot in no time so I never bothered but your video convinced me to try.

[@katharineeverhart769]

I planted sweet peas last August (not knowing what I was doing) and they are blooming this week, first time smelling them and will be planting them every year from now on!

[@dkburruss]

What great info!! I was intimidated to grow them and now I’m gonna do it!!! Thanks so much

[@joem2745]

I'll be growing sweet peas in the same bed along with delphinium, snap dragons, lavender, and lemongrass.

[@drummerlovesbookworm9738]

A wonderful old school garden!!

[@sarahbarton2089]

Great advice. Thanks. I am just going to sow a packet of Sweet Peas. Perfect timing.

[@nanettep6231]

Great video with a ton of useful instructions. You and I are certainly on the same wavelength! First our love of the Chanticleer black water display pot, now sweet peas. We just moved to Central California (Zone 10) from 6 years in the UK, where I was gardenless but purchased bunches of sweet peas often at our local farmers market. I never had sufficient sun to grown them in our NJ garden, so I am trying them here in a galvanized raised trough. I direct sewed them mid February and they have about 4 inches of growth. We get frequent days and nights with high winds, so I used a pre-made 5 foot tall rusted iron trellis that seems solid enough to hold through those gusts. My seeds are from Burpee, and I'm growing Sweet Dreams (mixed colors), High Scent (wh/lav bicolor) and Eckford's Finest (heirloom mixed colors). If it gets too hot too early for maximum flower production, next year I'll plan to pre start my seeds in the fall, as you advised, and set them out much earlier. Question-should I place mulch on the raised bed, and if so...do you have a suggestion of which type?

[@jeanne2515]

Planting them for the first time. I've been walking around my property (in my head) thinking of every place I can plant them. Thanks for the great information Erin.

[@traceye.6428]

I just love them. I’ve never really had much look. I’ll try your tips. Thank you!!

[@alissaeyre8302]

Excellent video! I adore sweet peas and just planted over 100 in my hoop house!

[@carmenbailey1560]

Planted Sweet Peas last year for the first time, they did okay, but this year will be different now that I’ve watched your video. Thanks for all your growing tips. I’ve ordered of my seed a least two weeks ago, still waiting. Bring on the Spring 👍😁❤️

[@laurajones6486]

My absolute favorite flowers. I live in zone 8. So I plant in the fall. I love them because they usually bloom around my birthday in April. Some years we have a cool enough spring that they bloom through Mother’s Day. If you haven’t tried sweet peas I promise you won’t be disappointed.

[@justelleleigh]

This is a very informative video for me. I have to go dig up some seeds tomorrow. I live in the Caribbean and planted sweetpeas once before without success. Now i realize that sprouting them makes a lot of sense. Thanks for the tips!

[@barbarafegley1279]

I used the root trainers for the first time this year. Tried 2 mixes from botanical interests called bouquet mix and perfume mix. They have a similar palette of colors. They were big enough to transplant outside against a trellis. 2 days ago. I hardened them off first. Looking good so far.

[@carybradley3968]

Question if you please, did you plant 2 seeds in each cell, or just one? Thanks!

[@barbarafegley1279]

@@carybradley3968 I planted 2 seeds per cell.

[@carybradley3968]

@@barbarafegley1279 excellent. Thank you!

[@emilymlandon]

I know this is from a year ago now but I’ve watched it about three times already (including today) bc it’s time to start my first seeds of 2022: sweet peas. Thanks, Erin!

[@csillaerdos-kelly9689]

I’m growing about 8-9 different varieties. Started from seed and I winter sowed some, too. Hopefully will have a good turn out with my babies.

[@charleneskalmusky5509]

This will be my first year growing sweet peas! Thanks for the great information!

[@didisinclair3605]

Rabbits and deer have become a big problem on my property.. not so bad years ago. I'm going to plant some sweet peas this year, and surround the stakes with 2 ft. of chicken wire, and see if that will keep the little buggers away. Great video as always!!!

[@bryonyhellis]

Same! Let’s keep our fingers crossed 🤞🌱

[@marlenegoho1778]

It’s my first time planting them...I’m in 6b...I used the wet paper towel method...I hope they make it because they’re so pretty! Thanks for the tutorial, it was so helpful!

[@helenevans6132]

I love sweet peas. I grow 2 seeds to a pot as they help support 1 andcother as they grow. Yes i can smell them from across the pond. I nip out after 4 true leaves

[@mybahe1]

I remember you mentioning how much you loved Sweet peas in another video so I bought some seeds! This was a excellent teaching video and just in time! Now that you've cleared up all the different methods of getting them sprouted I can get busy. Very well executed from start to finish! Thank you, Erin! 🌺🌹😊

[@BernardDauphinais]

I just picked up a packet of sweet pea seeds this afternoon. Tall Border Mixed Colors. I absolutely love the scent, but I've struggled to get them going in the past. Thanks for this video, very informative and helpful.

[@marykennedy3351]

I know this was a year old but awesome info. I'm trying sweet peas this year I have 12 different varieties in my cart and I want as much info on this subject as possible. Thank you for sharing as always your info is always a valuable.😊

[@marilynruggeberg]

Love Your Videos. I am growing Nocotiana this year because of you and now you are tempting me with Sweet Peas. 💖💖💖

[@laurafrye8635]

I am growing sweet peas. Zone 7a here. Our average last frost is around 4/21 but the weather is looking pretty mild. I started some with winter sowing last year and that went well. The soil is workable here and I’m going to try and direct sow some now, and winter sow again. I loved them last year!!

[@p.landry8022]

Thanks! My 1st to plant sweet peas

[@kimmcdonagh6756]

Yes, my first year growing sweet peas (like so many other commenters). I'm excited to try it. See where it is happiest in the yard. Thanks for great info!

[@vicmurai1033]

Thanks Erin - great tutorial on planting sweet peas. .

[@sharongeorge4096]

My first year with them. Half in trainers, half in red solo cups!! Excited to smell them.

[@LittleGardenSK]

My absolute favorite flower. I"m in zone 3 Canada so they make a great summer annual - almost time to get some started!

[@gardingyrl3501]

I started some in 5 in root trainers, and clear water bottles that I cut about 4-5 in leaving a hinge with the top of the water bottles

[@karencameron6563]

Hi Erin - really enjoying your videos. I am blown away by the sweet pea varieties you have access to and can't wait to see the update once they're in bloom! We are seemingly quite limited here in Canada with varieties. :-)

[@julee0613]

Can wait to try these this year. They are new to me and so pretty.

[@sallywoods7131]

Love this! Great info for me. I have wanted to plant sweet peas for years and now I feel more confident and inspired. Thank you for going through step by step.

[@johnburgess3682]

Hi there im in the UK i am a newbie to gardening your presentation was very good

[@Rylee948]

Thank you so very much! I have been struggling with sweet peas. This is so informative and takes the mystery out of sweet peas. I'm definitely going to do the paper towel method. Can't wait to see how yours and mine do.

[@daygirl2659]

I love Sweet Peas and have been planting them for a few years. This year I saw your seed trays and had to have them!! They worked great!! I’m in 10a and one variety has started blooming. It’s called Royal Navy Blue. It’s a deep purple. This year I added 4 new varieties. I soaked them and all but one variety germinated. I also collected seeds from all my others last year. So fun🌱🌸

[@GardenMoxie]

Great video Erin. I wish I had more sunshine to grows these plants. You are right about them smelling wonderful. Nice work!

[@jaycee8121]

Planted two different types. First for me excited 🌸

[@colinmcknight2590]

Just bought my sweet pea seeds today. You have inspired me to try something new.

[@junemacare5184]

I will plant sweet peas this year, I live in Idaho near Boise so I was told to plant them in March. I hope that is right, I am looking forward to picking and enjoying a very fragrant season of sweet peas !

[@vkippen]

🌸 YOU ARE FABULOUS! 🌸 I’m doing this TODAY! I’ll keep u posted and thank you darling heart! XO, zone 10a

[@cookingwithnagriskhokhar2566]

So so beautiful flowers 💐🌹💐🌹💐 touch my heart ❤️

[@maryfarrand1799]

I live in a zone 8a and am going to plant sweet peas on a fence line which will keep their roots shaded but warm the tops. I am going to try direct sowing after sprouting!

[@mrs.riche3939]

I thought I ordered sweet peas 😥😥 I accidentally somehow deleted them from my cart... oh well that's what happens when I tinker and get distracted. I actually have a perennial variety that grows up my fence every year it comes back. They don't smell and they don't get as big but are still beautiful. That will have to be enough this year LOL wishing you all a Happy growing season!