Sweet pea and foxglove sowing - in London- is it too late ?

selinasally

Hello all- i am a newbie and i fear i may have missed the boat for the sweet pea sowing ? I have just constructed the root trainers .. i dont have a cold frame- but do have a shed with a shelf , but  hope to have a greenhouse by Dec 4th ...was wondering if i should plant up and leave in my cool living room until the greenhouse is ready - I had already been told no point growing the foxgloves now and to wait until Spring - should I wait for the sweet pea and  foxglove until Feb time then ? i am dying to sow something !  

B3

Sow a few and see what happens. Keep some back to sow in the spring just in case

Dovefromabove

I’d leave it now and sow in February. I don’t think you’ll gain anything by sowing now as the Feb down ones will soon catch up 😊 

Joyce Goldenlily

You do not say if you only want to grow  flowers but  you could sow All Year Round cauliflowers, Winter Density Lettuce, broad beans, they would need some protection frost the persistent rain we are currently having but do not need heat, there are not many flowers to sow at this time although the ground is still quite warm so delphiniums might be a possibility. Slugs love them so sow in a pot and stand in a shallow saucer filled with gravel or sharp sand.

SophieK

I only sowed my sweet peas a couple of weeks ago (in Wimbledon) and they are doing great.

Fairygirl

I wouldn't bother either, although, as you're in a warm enough part of the country you could do a few, and see what happens. 
Late February is probably early enough  in a warm area, but they'll need the cold frame. Don't cosset them though.  Foxgloves are tougher than s. peas too. 
I do mine in late March, and October if I do any in autumn, but we're at least a month behind up here. 

BrixtonGardener

SophieK said:

I only sowed my sweet peas a couple of weeks ago (in Wimbledon) and they are doing great.

Me too, but it’s been so weirdly warm down here that they’re pretty leggy despite having been outside. 

For the original poster, you may get away with it, London is only occasionally dipping below 10 degrees over the next couple of weeks. Maybe try some now, some in February?

Fairygirl

You need to pinch them out regularly if you have warmer conditions, and they're growing a lot, so that they're bushy plants for planting out in spring 

BrixtonGardener

We’ve got a bit of a cold snap coming up tomorrow so hopefully that’ll keep them in check. At least until Saturday when we’re back up to 12 degrees. 

It’s been a weird weather year. 

selinasally

SophieK said:

I only sowed my sweet peas a couple of weeks ago (in Wimbledon) and they are doing great.

im just around the corner in SW20 !!

Janie B

I'm planning to sow some sweet peas in December, following this from Sarah Raven:

"...I'm going to grow some sweet peas from seed and it's the middle of December which is a really good time to do it.  We've done lots of experiments here at Perch Hill and we had begun to think that January is fine and even February, but this year (the last season) we sowed them earlier about this time and we saw huge benefits; the plants were stronger, they had stronger roots, better disease resistance, they didn't get mildew and they produced more flowers.  I definitely think it's worth it, so if you can do it this side of Christmas or early in the New Year..."