Thank you Dovefromabove !! I am new to this gardening malarchy and on sandy soil, I was told it would get dry very quickly but in this case clearly not !!
I have just over 300 sweet pea plants started at ditterent times, this year they have taken quite a time to get established, but now they are away. The first sowing at Christmas are now two feet tall and showing their first flower buds, the second and third sowing are fast catching up, the second sowing are on heavy clay ground, the third sowing are on my allotment which is very stony, the first sowing were potted up into large 2'-0" pots 6 plants to a pot, i always try for some early flowers, my wife does the tying up and removing all the tendrils almost on a daily basis, this produces better flowers.
Sorry if I'm repeating anything (first time poster) but it's been advised that sweet peas dont need to be watered every day - but how often should they be watered? At the moment, we are experiencing pretty warm days (averaging 22-24 degrees this past week)... How often should I water in these types of temperatures?
I have planted out my sweet peas but have noticed one pot have got significant yellowing plants in the centre of the pot. I have fed them and some flowers have appeared. What is going wrong with the yellowing plants?
You dont say when you planted out your sweet peas; mine are now at the top of eight foot canes and apart from keeping ourselves supplied with flowers we have given 30 bunches away to neighbours; I will admit I am growing 300 plants. Sweet peas like a lot of water when growing, rain water if possible, if they start to dry out the leaves start to get parched, this also happens if they get wind scorched. You can try an high nitrogen fertilizer to start to see if the leaves change then move on to a phoshate one to encourage flowers. Good luck
I went away for 7 days during the heatwave in London and now they do not look good - bottom 1/3 yellow, and flowers and stalks very small and not worth putting in vases. I have watered every day in this heat and they are in full sun. Should I let it go? Or is there any other advice?
Once plants (of any kind) dry out, it can be hard to rehydrate them. Sweet peas need a lot of water and food. When you water, make sure you do it throughly, then leave for a few days unless they look a bit limp. Remove any dead foliage, give them a really thorough soaking now, until the ground is properly dampened to a good depth, and take a look at them tomorrow and see if they've perked up. If they still look limp, water again. A liquid feed every so often if they've been flowering for a while is beneficial. All annuals eventually run out of steam and need a bit of help along the way.
If they're in pots, soak them thoroughly with a hose until the soil/compost is throughly damp. The next day, water again with some tomato food to replace the nutrients which will be washed away by the watering. After that, don't let them get dried out and limp. They actually don't like desperately hot weather - they perform better if they get reasonable sun, but a bit of protection from it at the hottest part of the day. In pots, you can always move them to a shadier spot to protect them a bit.
If you plant into the ground, always try and prepare the ground well with some decent compost and some well rotted manure if you have it. That will get them off to a good start, and will also help if there's a dry spell as it will help with moisture retention.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
My garden has very little shade, and they are in a large pot but maybe I planted too many in there, too. It's my first time They started to flower really well just before i left and I was filling little jugs with gorgeous-scented flowers. I'm a bit heartbroken but gardening (as my Mother tells me) is a learning curve. I'm 45....:)
Don't worry too much. As your mum says - it's very much a learning curve!
I think if you keep them well enough watered, you'll get some more out of them. Another idea for next year would be to sow some later on than the ones you've done, to give you a succession of flowers. They only have so much in them and will eventually fizzle out.
I tend to sow direct into big pots, or if I sow a bit earlier, I do them in small pots (two or three to a pot) and then plant the whole potful out. I did that this year. Up here, it's a bit later till they start getting going, as it's generally too cold, but it also means that they continue flowering into October as long as the rough weather doesn't knacker them. Mine are only just flowering properly this week. The variety will dictate that a little bit too. I mostly use pots for mine, and will put about eight or nine plants in a big pot like this...
I can often get away with a few more as we get plenty of rain, and not too much heat.
If your garden's really exposed to sun, and if you have any other plants in pots, you could group them together for protection. Failing that, put them in the aspect which gives them some relief from midday sun - westerly can be ideal, but even north or east will be better than being over heated. It can be a bit of a faff, but worth it to stop them wilting. If you're going to be away during summer, a temporary screen of some kind will also help. It doesn't have to be fancy - canes with netting/sheeting of some kind. Or if you have a front garden which will be shadier, put them there (assuming they're currently in your back garden!)
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Posts
Thank you Dovefromabove !! I am new to this gardening malarchy and on sandy soil, I was told it would get dry very quickly but in this case clearly not !!
I have my fingers crossed for the poor things !
Good luck with yours Star gaze lily !
Thank you,...you too Rachel
I have just over 300 sweet pea plants started at ditterent times, this year they have taken quite a time to get established, but now they are away. The first sowing at Christmas are now two feet tall and showing their first flower buds, the second and third sowing are fast catching up, the second sowing are on heavy clay ground, the third sowing are on my allotment which is very stony, the first sowing were potted up into large 2'-0" pots 6 plants to a pot, i always try for some early flowers, my wife does the tying up and removing all the tendrils almost on a daily basis, this produces better flowers.
Hi all,
Sorry if I'm repeating anything (first time poster) but it's been advised that sweet peas dont need to be watered every day - but how often should they be watered? At the moment, we are experiencing pretty warm days (averaging 22-24 degrees this past week)... How often should I water in these types of temperatures?
Thanks so much,
Sarah
I have planted out my sweet peas but have noticed one pot have got significant yellowing plants in the centre of the pot. I have fed them and some flowers have appeared. What is going wrong with the yellowing plants?
You dont say when you planted out your sweet peas; mine are now at the top of eight foot canes and apart from keeping ourselves supplied with flowers we have given 30 bunches away to neighbours; I will admit I am growing 300 plants. Sweet peas like a lot of water when growing, rain water if possible, if they start to dry out the leaves start to get parched, this also happens if they get wind scorched. You can try an high nitrogen fertilizer to start to see if the leaves change then move on to a phoshate one to encourage flowers. Good luck
I went away for 7 days during the heatwave in London and now they do not look good - bottom 1/3 yellow, and flowers and stalks very small and not worth putting in vases. I have watered every day in this heat and they are in full sun. Should I let it go? Or is there any other advice?
Many thanks!
Once plants (of any kind) dry out, it can be hard to rehydrate them. Sweet peas need a lot of water and food. When you water, make sure you do it throughly, then leave for a few days unless they look a bit limp. Remove any dead foliage, give them a really thorough soaking now, until the ground is properly dampened to a good depth, and take a look at them tomorrow and see if they've perked up. If they still look limp, water again. A liquid feed every so often if they've been flowering for a while is beneficial. All annuals eventually run out of steam and need a bit of help along the way.
If they're in pots, soak them thoroughly with a hose until the soil/compost is throughly damp. The next day, water again with some tomato food to replace the nutrients which will be washed away by the watering. After that, don't let them get dried out and limp. They actually don't like desperately hot weather - they perform better if they get reasonable sun, but a bit of protection from it at the hottest part of the day. In pots, you can always move them to a shadier spot to protect them a bit.
If you plant into the ground, always try and prepare the ground well with some decent compost and some well rotted manure if you have it. That will get them off to a good start, and will also help if there's a dry spell as it will help with moisture retention.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Thanks so much Fairygirl.
My garden has very little shade, and they are in a large pot but maybe I planted too many in there, too. It's my first time
They started to flower really well just before i left and I was filling little jugs with gorgeous-scented flowers. I'm a bit heartbroken but gardening (as my Mother tells me) is a learning curve. I'm 45....:)
Don't worry too much. As your mum says - it's very much a learning curve!
I think if you keep them well enough watered, you'll get some more out of them. Another idea for next year would be to sow some later on than the ones you've done, to give you a succession of flowers. They only have so much in them and will eventually fizzle out.
I tend to sow direct into big pots, or if I sow a bit earlier, I do them in small pots (two or three to a pot) and then plant the whole potful out. I did that this year. Up here, it's a bit later till they start getting going, as it's generally too cold, but it also means that they continue flowering into October as long as the rough weather doesn't knacker them. Mine are only just flowering properly this week. The variety will dictate that a little bit too. I mostly use pots for mine, and will put about eight or nine plants in a big pot like this...
I can often get away with a few more as we get plenty of rain, and not too much heat.
If your garden's really exposed to sun, and if you have any other plants in pots, you could group them together for protection. Failing that, put them in the aspect which gives them some relief from midday sun - westerly can be ideal, but even north or east will be better than being over heated. It can be a bit of a faff, but worth it to stop them wilting. If you're going to be away during summer, a temporary screen of some kind will also help. It doesn't have to be fancy - canes with netting/sheeting of some kind. Or if you have a front garden which will be shadier, put them there (assuming they're currently in your back garden!)
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...