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These super-scented floral powerhouses will produce barrels of flowers in a kaleidoscope of tones throughout the season

Sweet peas are summer flowers that are easy to grow and are used for garden color and bouquet cutting. These super-scented floral powerhouses will produce barrels of flowers in a kaleidoscope-like range of tones throughout the season. Sweet peas illuminate the border and provide a steady stream of stems to choose bouquets to fill your home with fragrance.

It is usually recommended to cut or chop the sweet pea flower seeds before planting, or soak them overnight in water or a damp kitchen roll-but none of this is necessary. Sweet peas like to grow roots, so it's best to put them in 9 cm pots or root trainers, they are special high inserts. However, the cardboard inner layer of toilet paper is also suitable.

Sow the seeds individually in the root trainer or the inner circle of toilet paper, or sow two to three seeds into a 9 cm pot. Fill the container with seed compost, wet the surface, and then use your fingers to push the seed to a depth of about 1 cm. Gently add a little compost and water. Place flower pots in a well-lit area undercover. They do not require extra heat from the breeder like other seeds. After the seedlings appear, place the pots in a bright and cool place, preferably around 5-10°C, otherwise they will grow long and long.

Sweet peas are sown and planted from seeds or purchased as planting plants. If you start growing from seeds, you can sown in autumn (usually October or November) or spring (February to April) and grow into small plants on the seedlings.

For planting in autumn and early spring, it needs a frost-free place, such as a cold greenhouse or a cold shelf, to grow. If you don’t have such a cool and bright place, it’s best to wait until after April, when you can easily start sowing on the windowsill inside. Or, in late April and May, sown directly on the ground or in large pots outside.

Once all the frost risks have passed, in late spring or early summer (usually from late May to June), you can plant the plugs you purchased or the seedlings grown in your home in an outdoor garden. Please continue reading below to learn more about how to sow and grow sweet pea flowers.

For spring-sown sweet peas, when your seedlings reach a height of about 10 cm, you can pinch out the tips to encourage them to grow strong and dense, with a large number of flowering side buds. Use your fingers and thumb to hold the growing tip at the top of the stem, squeeze it and clamp it over a pair of leaves. Don't pinch off the tips of autumn plants.

Once there is no chance of frost, usually from late May, the seedlings and plugs that grow outdoors are prepared through hardening. This means putting them outside during the day, and then putting them back indoors at night, for about a week, so that they can adapt to colder temperatures.

Their final growth location should be in a sunny, well-drained, and fertile soil. Annual sweet peas are climbers who need support to grow up—usually lattices, nets, teepees made of rattan, border obelisks, or garden arches. Place the bracket of your choice in an appropriate location and plant sweet peas about 5 cm from the bottom, about 15-20 cm apart.

If growing in a pot, add some slow-release fertilizer to the compost when planting to maintain health throughout the season. Keep the plants well watered and watch out for damage from snails and slugs.

As they grow, sweet pea flowers should be tied to their supports with garden twine or support rings. Once the flowers begin to bloom, feed the sweet peas regularly with tomato fertilizer. The more flowers you pick, the more flowers you produce, so continue to harvest them throughout the summer.

There are annual and perennial sweet pea flowers. The annual plant, Lathyrus odoratus, is usually a fragrant climbing plant that lasts for one season and must be sown fresh every year. The perennial or "eternal" type of Lathyrus latifolius comes back every spring, but most have almost no smell. Some are bushy rather than climbing.

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