The sweet pea-Lathyrus odoratus-is an annual flower that is at home in a cutting garden, border garden, woodland, or twining on a trellis or an arch. The flowers are now available in a huge range of colors, from pearly white through ice cream pastels to ritzy magentas and inky purples. It is an annual climbing plant, growing to a height of 3 ft - 6 ft when supported on a trellis or other structure . The leaves have tendrils which twine around supporting structures, helping the sweet pea to climb. In the wild, the flowers produced by the sweet pea plant are purple and smaller than the flowers seen in cross-bred and developed cultivars. Perfect for picking, fragrant sweet peas are easy to grow and come in a range of beautiful colours. You can grow them in pots or in the ground, training them up a frame for a beautiful display.

Types of sweet peas? While the most common variety of sweet pea is an annual (Lathyrus odoratus), they also come in perennial varieties (Lathyrus latifolius).

1. Annual sweet peas: Annual sweet peas complete their entire life cycle in one growing season. Like other annual crops, they germinate, grow, produce seeds, and die within the course of a year. If you want to grow them again, you'll need to replant new plants in your garden the following year. Most sweet pea varieties are annuals.
2. Perennial sweet peas: Perennial sweet peas come back year after year. You do not need to replant them after the growing season ends, and they will continue to grow for a longer period of time. Perennial sweet pea varieties may be easier to grow, but there are fewer to choose from and they tend to lack that classic sweet pea fragrance.

• Once planted, germination can take 7 to 15 days, depending on the soil temperature.
• As seedlings emerge and grow, gradually fill in the trench. Hoe more soil up to them.
• Keep soil moist. Summer rain may be ample. If you put your finger into the soil bed to its first joint and the soil is dry, water them at the soil level and do so in the morning; sweet peas can suffer from bud drop.
• If you use plenty of aged manure and compost when planting, you do not need to fertilize. If you do want to add nourishment, use high potash feeds, as nitrogen feeds encourage too much top growth.
• When plants become established, mulch well to keep the soil cool and moist. If you mulch, you may not need to water your sweet peas unless the soil gets dry.

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