Learning how to grow sweet peas - a fragrant ampelous plant
Sweet peas are rightfully considered one of the most favorite ampelous garden plants. Its long curly lashes can often be seen not only on gazebos and arches, but also on city balconies. This plant is really incredibly attractive: possessing the ability to curl along a support and braid it, it also blooms gorgeous. Large inflorescences, similar to a sailing boat, bloom in the middle of summer and delight until frost. They can have different colors, moreover, they emit a pleasant aroma. Therefore, many gardeners are interested in how to grow sweet peas, because this is a wonderful crop for vertical gardening. Today we will tell you when and in what way it is better to plant it. We will also find out the basics of caring for peas growing in the garden.
Landing features
- Seeds (beans) sprout for a long time, reluctantly and unevenly. When planting directly on a flower bed, it often turns out that half of the garden bed is empty.
- The plant has a long growing season and blooms no earlier than 2 or even 3 months after sowing (in July).
In order to have time to admire and enjoy the full flowering of an annual plant, it is better to grow it through seedlings. In this case, peas can bloom as early as late spring.
Seeds can be planted on seedlings at any time, even in late autumn - it all depends on the goals and the region of cultivation. But if peas are planned to be planted outside, it is better to do this not earlier than March.
Sweet pea seeds need preliminary preparation. First, they are soaked in warm water with the addition of a growth stimulant, and then germinated.
Sprouted beans are recommended to be planted immediately in separate cups, you can plant a couple of them. This will avoid diving, in which fragile stems often break. Before germination, crops should be kept in a warm and bright place, under a film. When the peas release sprouts, the film is removed and the pots are moved to a cooler place (no more than 16 ° C heat). It is also advisable to install additional lighting so that the seedlings do not stretch out.
After the formation of a pair of true leaves, you need to pinch the top of the central and lateral (if any) shoots. This will make the bush more lush. In open ground, seedlings can be planted no earlier than return frosts.
How to grow sweet peas: outdoor plant care
A place for planting a plant should be chosen warm and sunny, with fertile and loose soil. On poor soil, it is advisable to add compost and a mineral complex based on phosphorus and potassium into the holes during planting.If the peas are tall, then they are either immediately planted near an arch or arbor, or a separate support is installed for each plant. You can also stretch a common mesh along the garden bed. As the shoots grow, they will need to be guided and tied up at first until they attach with antennae.
Low-growing varieties of sweet peas do not need support.
It is not necessary to water the plants often, but abundantly. The main thing is that the earth does not dry out, otherwise he will drop flowers. By the way, in order to prolong flowering as much as possible, wilted flowers are plucked, preventing them from tying pods. For the same purpose, the bushes are fed fertilizers for flowering plants, although peas can grow without them.