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Post by sweetpea on Feb 1, 2011 18:31:21 GMT
Thought it might be an idea to have questions re sweetpeas here.
I will try to answer as best as I can.
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Post by floydie on Feb 2, 2011 15:31:55 GMT
How long should it take for them to germinate? I sowed mine last week for inside growing.
I keep moving them on to the window sill in the day and back into the airing cupboard at night.
Also i don't have a cold-frame (as yet) could i move them to the greenhouse when they are big enough? or should i just leave them on the window sill for a little longer?
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Post by sweetpea on Feb 2, 2011 18:44:12 GMT
How long should it take for them to germinate? I sowed mine last week for inside growing. I keep moving them on to the window sill in the day and back into the airing cupboard at night. Also i don't have a cold-frame (as yet) could i move them to the greenhouse when they are big enough? or should i just leave them on the window sill for a little longer? depending on the degree of warmth I would expect the first shoots to appear anytime after 5 days. As soon as germination is complete (hopefully all the seeds sown) place them outdoors in a sheltered but not shaded position. Full light is very important. If freezing temps. bring them back indoors but only temporary as you don't want them to get leggy. Even if you haven't got a frame yet A pane of glass or even polythene placed over them for the first few days will be beneficial |
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Post by floydie on Feb 2, 2011 19:26:35 GMT
Ok thanks shouldnt be long then  . I can always put them out in the day then move them back in at night . |
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Post by sweetpea on Feb 2, 2011 20:13:38 GMT
Ok thanks shouldnt be long then . I can always put them out in the day then move them back in at night . I have had seeds germinating as late as 3 weeks after the first one but usually they are all through within 10 - 12 days. |
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Post by scrumpy on Feb 3, 2011 0:09:00 GMT
From experience, i've found that seeds of the same variety that are slow to germinate don't perform as well as those that are through quickly. I grow 16 of each variety, so i'll sow 40 seeds and pick the first 20 to germinate and grow them as my main plants. The rest go to the neighbours |
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Post by floydie on Feb 3, 2011 0:15:42 GMT
Mine are a mixed packet so should i expect varied growth rates from them?  |
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Post by sweetpea on Feb 3, 2011 14:32:43 GMT
Mine are a mixed packet so should i expect varied growth rates from them? Yes, but in all honesty they will most likely be similar in many characteristics so there shouldn't be any growth differences worth talking about. |
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Post by sweetpea on Feb 3, 2011 14:40:22 GMT
From experience, i've found that seeds of the same variety that are slow to germinate don't perform as well as those that are through quickly. I grow 16 of each variety, so i'll sow 40 seeds and pick the first 20 to germinate and grow them as my main plants. The rest go to the neighbours When I am sowing with exhibition plants in mind I tend to sow at least twice the number of seeds to get the plants I want. ie if I want 45 plants ( the minimum number required for a decent vase of 15) then I would sow 90 seeds, usually a few more but that would be my minimum. ps The actual seeds would have been checked and graded prior to sowing by myself but that will be mentiond at the appropriate time. |
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Post by scrumpy on Feb 3, 2011 21:33:52 GMT
I grow 16 plants and hope to get 7 blooms, as i only enter the under 100 plants section at Wem.
In a good year you can get more than that. Last year was hopeless....think i had 25 decent blooms out of the whole lot and made just one decent vase of white frills out of three entries.
Year before i had 6 goodish vases from the same number of plants.
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Post by sweetpea on Feb 6, 2011 23:56:33 GMT
This is my temporary frame last winter. Just shows how I let plants grow hard, no losses either.  |
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Feb 14, 2011 19:25:45 GMT
Righto...bearing in mind that I've not grown sweet peas before...can you recommend a sweetly scented variety? Have I left it too late?
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Post by sweetpea on Feb 14, 2011 20:06:22 GMT
Righto...bearing in mind that I've not grown sweet peas before... can you recommend a sweetly scented variety? Have I left it too late?Q.1 yes. Honeymoon is a pale lavender flush highly scented. Also White frills as its name suggests....white and also good scent Other good scented ones: karen Reeve - Mauve, Anniversary - picotee (White pink edge) and Jilly which is cream The most highly scented however are the 'Old fashioned' varieties all of which are good for scent, sometimes called 'Grandiflora' which is a bit of a misnomer as the flowers ar smaller than the spencers. A vase of them will scent a room wonderfully. Q2. No it is not too late. I haven't sown mine yet. Sow in pots/trays or roottrainers indoors and plant out whenready or sow direct outdoors March - April. If for exhibition though, now is a bit late for summer shows but should be fine for later shows. |
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Feb 15, 2011 17:25:32 GMT
Why thankee kindly Sweetpea....I'm going to Cardiff garden show in April...might get my hands on a few seeds there, unless I find any that I like online before then.
ooooh I don't think I'll be exhibiting....need to see if I can grow them first...
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Post by sweetpea on Feb 15, 2011 18:01:45 GMT
Why thankee kindly Sweetpea....I'm going to Cardiff garden show in April...might get my hands on a few seeds there, unless I find any that I like online before then. ooooh I don't think I'll be exhibiting.... need to see if I can grow them first...They tend to do that all by themselves |
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