Any Questions?

[marynz]

Cool is not going to happen here this summer, and I do expect that is part of it. I am sure they lasted longer when I lived in a cooler climate. They are picked most days. I had read that you have to pick them every second day.

[sweetpea]

You can also cut them before the top flower is fully open, should last a bit longer then.

[marynz]

I am noticing that the whites last longest. Could be a cultivar thing.

[sweetpea]

Jan 1, 2013 5:02:44 GMT marynz said:

I am noticing that the whites last longest. Could be a cultivar thing.

The white varieties tend to stand up to the rain better than the coloured ones particularly blue and mauve so that may well be a factor.

[marynz]

It is a very wet summer, and the rest are blues and purples, so yes, very relevant, thank you.

[Cherry]

This is a good thread to use for sweet peas, or the subject gets quite fragmented. Sometimes I can't find the references to sweet peas because they are tucked in with something else.

[steve2t]

Is it possible to grow sweet peas for competition in large 20inch containers? The reason being, it is possible that the ground here may be water logged for sometime to come!!

[sweetpea]

Jan 29, 2013 0:08:20 GMT steve2t said:

Is it possible to grow sweet peas for competition in large 20inch containers? The reason being, it is possible that the ground here may be water logged for sometime to come!!

Strictly speaking anything can be grown in containers. However I think it may be a difficult task to grow SPs to competition standard as there are so many factors involved.
I have never tried it so cannot speak from experience but with no alternative I would give it a go.
if you do then please report your experience here, good or bad.

[steve2t]

Thanks sweetpea. I'll give it a go. Maybe put some canes in around the edge of the containers and grow them in a cylindrical shape then I can layer them.

[sweetpea]

Jan 29, 2013 16:46:20 GMT steve2t said:

Thanks sweetpea. I'll give it a go. Maybe put some canes in around the edge of the containers and grow them in a cylindrical shape then I can layer them.

Good luck

[Cherry]

I am very interested in all aspects of sweet peas and do like the dedicated thread to follow the progress.

[scrumpy]

Jan 29, 2013 0:08:20 GMT steve2t said:

Is it possible to grow sweet peas for competition in large 20inch containers? The reason being, it is possible that the ground here may be water logged for sometime to come!!

I agree with sweet pea.I tried last year in bigger containers than that and they were OK for the first few weeks but soon lost their length and size. Problem in my case was they got to dry, even though I thought i was watering enough. And the roots took over the pot. When you dig them up in garden soil you don't see many roots, but in the container they filled it completely.

[steve2t]

I had patio dahlias in them last year and they drowned with the constant rain!!! Even all the bedding plants in containers died. My calender record of "rain" days is unbelievable, 4 days was the longest "drought" in the growing season. And I'm planning on it being the same this year. (Or moving south and east ;D)

[Geranium]

Definitely east - west is not a good idea!

[Cherry]

Come and join us Steve2. Norfolk is overlooked and a great place and the soil in the west of Norfolk must be the best in the country.