Leggy sweet peas

marian.mccraith

I thought I was being clever planting sweet peas nice and early and keeping them on top of the kitchen cupboard... However, they've quickly grown to 6-8", so are very spindly. Is there a way of slowing them down?! And will they still thrive?

Fairygirl

They're trying to get adequate light, so have become etiolated.
You can pinch the tops out to encourage bushiness, but they really need to be somewhere bright, and not too warm. A north facing window or similar, if you don't have a cold frame/greenhouse etc.

marian.mccraith

Thanks for this, Fairygirl. At the moment, there's not much to pinch out - just two leaves at the top of each stem, but I'll do so if and when more leaves appear. And I'll move them to a brighter, cooler spot. Cheers.

Purplerain

Yes. Just nip them back and don't worry about the roots. They will air prune themselves and will be fine after frosts have passed for planting out. 

marian.mccraith

'Air prune' - that's positively poetic! Thanks, Purplerain..

Purplerain

You are welcome 😀.

Fairygirl

If they only have two leaves, you'll need to wait a little until they have some proper leaves. Those are just the seed leaves.
It's a common problem if they're started off too soon, with not enough light to grow more evenly. Ideally, they shouldn't be given too much warmth if sown at this time of year, so that they germinate and grow slowly. 

Don't worry too much about them though, and you can always sow more in a few weeks, outdoors in small pots, to grow on and plant out where you want them 

marian.mccraith

Thanks, that's reassuring.