It’s time to plant Sweet Peas

Sweet Peas speak softly of spring, with their delightful fragrance, exquisite colours and pickable, long lasting blooms. They are easy to grow but need good soil preparation and full sun to flower profusely. There are both climbing and bush varieties. They are ideal for smaller gardens and the dwarf varieties can even be planted in containers.

Seed can be sown from December to February for winter flowers or in April for spring flowers. Beds should be worked over to a depth of 50cm, with compost, old manure and a sprinkling of lime. Sow seed in situ and keep damp during germination. When plants are about 18cm high, nip off the tops leaving only about 10 cm. This encourages strong basal shoots and when these reach 18cm they should also be tipped to encourage stronger growth. Climbing varieties need to be staked. Water once a week, and apply a liquid fertiliser every 10 days when plants are in full bloom. Removing spent blooms will increase flower production.

Seed varieties available from Kirchhoffs:

• Mammoth Choice Series, a climbing variety ideal for cut flowers.
• Bijou Mixed, a bush variety, ideal for borders.

Come to The Autumn Garden Show and get your Sweet Pea seeds from the Kirchhoffs stand.