Sweet pea
Also called Annual sweet pea.
| Light | full sun |
|---|---|
| Water | Every 3 days in the growing season, every 14 in winter |
| Humidity | medium |
| Difficulty | moderate |
| Height | Up to 200 cm (79 in) tall |
| Pets | Cats not known, dogs not known |
Source: ASPCA Animal Poison Control, toxic and non-toxic plants, no entry for Lathyrus odoratus; Sweet Pea entry covers L. latifolius.
Sweet peas are grown for scent and for the discipline of picking them, and the strongest plants come from an autumn sowing. Hardy annuals go in when the soil is still moist, in September and October in the north, with sweet peas among those that want a cold frame or a cloche over them through the winter. The alternative is a sowing from January to March under glass. In South Africa they are sown in the autumn months from February, and the March advice there notes they take frost though the flowers are spoiled by a hard one. Dig the trench deeply and enrich it, because the roots run straight down. Then pick every day. A sweet pea that is allowed to set seed decides its work is done and stops.
Ailments observed
| It will not flower | Seed pods left on the plant, which tells it the year is over. Pick or deadhead every single day. One row of pods setting will stop a plant flowering within a fortnight. |
|---|---|
| White powder on the leaves | Powdery mildew late in the season on plants with dry roots. Soak the ground deeply and mulch it. Mildew on sweet peas is nearly always a signal of drought at the root rather than damp air. |
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