sweet pea

Sweet peas require regular watering in order to stay healthy and bloom. Water your sweet peas thoroughly once a week when the soil is dry, taking care not to overwater or saturate the soil. In hot and dry climates, it may be necessary to water them more often. Adding a layer of mulch can help to retain moisture.

Sweet pea (Lathyrus odoratus) plants need full sunlight in order to flourish. The best times for sunlight for sweet peas are between 8 AM and 6 PM. Sweet peas require approximately 8 hours of direct sunlight every day during the warmer and sunnier months in order to produce a good crop of flowers. In areas that receive high levels of sunlight, sweet peas should be given filtered light or partial shade during the hottest part of the day to prevent the plant from becoming sunburned.

Sweet peas (Lathyrus odoratus) should be pruned as soon as the flowering season is over, usually in late summer. There are 2 types of sweet pea pruning- light pruning and hard pruning. Light pruning is pruning back the tendrils up to 3 inches of the main stem. This is done to maintain the overall shape of the plant and encourage new growth. Hard pruning is done in late fall or early spring and involves cutting back the stems to 5 or 6 inches above the ground. This is done to remove any weak or dead stems and to encourage new growth. Some varieties of sweet pea can also benefit from a mid-season prune where up to half of the stems can be cut back, usually done in mid-summer. This helps to encourage better flowering in the following season.