Choosing supports to grow your sweet pea plants on

A beginners guide to growing sweet peas, and the different structures you can use.

The days are beginning to warm up and get longer, and our plants are growing faster than they were in the cooler weather. Lathyrus spp. aka sweet peas are no exception to this. Whether you sowed your seeds in autumn or just recently this spring (or you have bought plug plants), you will need to think about the vertical support you will give them to grow up. You need to give your plants structure now, as you are planting them out – do not allow them to flop around!

Read on to find out how to care for your sweet peas, and how to choose the most suitable structure for them.

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Sweet pea basics:

• Autumn-sown sweet peas –
• Sow in autumn, October-November.
• Over-winter in protection, on a sunny windowsill, greenhouse or conservatory.
• Harden-off *before planting out in spring, March-May.

• Spring-sown sweet peas –
• Sow in early spring, February-March.
• Harden-off* before planting out in spring, March-May.
• Or sow seeds directly into the ground April-May.

*Hardening off helps the plants become more robust. Place them outside during the day and return them to a frost-free place at night for a couple of weeks before you plant them in the ground.

• Pinching out – Pinch out the tips of sweet pea seedlings when they have reached 10cm tall (or they have three or four pairs of leaves) to encourage lateral, busy growth.

• Where to plant – Plant in full sun in moisture-retentive but free-draining, fertile soil.

• Staking – Sweet peas need support as they grow vertically. Many species and varieties can grow to six feet tall and will not be able to support themselves. They require a teepee, net, arch or trellis to cling onto with their tendrils.

• Planting – Using a hand trowel, plant two to three seedlings at the base of each support/cane. Firm lightly and water well. 

• Tying-in – Loosely tie the plants onto the frame/structure as they grow. Initially tie them on to encourage them to grow up, and help them to “hold on”. Keep tying in as they climb. This will make them grow more quickly and prevents them from putting all their energy into holding themselves upright – resulting in longer stems. 

Use a biodegradable garden string, rather than a plastic one which will stay in your soil for ages. My jute twine string holders are the perfect accessory to have on hand for tying-in!

• Plant care –
• Feed every couple of weeks, to encourage vigorous growth (a general fertiliser or tomato feed works well). 
• Keep well-watered and water every day in particularly dry periods. Sweet peas are thirsty, hungry plants!
• Optional – pinch out the curly stems and tendrils as they grow, so that the plants direct their energy into growing longer stems and flowers.
• Keep picking flowers to promote further flowering, before they go to seed. Snip off seed pods – once they start forming seeds, they will no longer produce flowers. 

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Choosing appropriate support:

There are several things to consider when deciding on which structure will work best for your plants and garden. The one you choose comes down to personal preference and the budget you have to spend.

• Size – Take into account the ultimate height and spread of the sweet pea cultivar you are growing, and make sure it is big and strong enough for them.
• Style – Choose something that suits the look of your garden. For example, a homemade, willow wigwam will look fantastic in a country cottage garden, whilst an angular, metal arch will be more in keeping with modern themes.
• Price – Store-bought options vary enormously in price. Cheaper products tend to last for just one or two seasons so will need replacing regularly (which may end up in landfill, depending on what it is made from). More expensive options may be a “one-time purchase” but could be too much for your budget. DIY structures and recycled objects are very cheap, or completely free (so better for the planet too).
  

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Different types of plant support:

Ready-made structures –

• Trellis and lattices – Grid-like structures are commercially available from many garden centres and online stores. They can be made from wood, bamboo canes, willow sticks, plastic or metal; and can be a decorative panel, expandable trellis, or a rigid functional sheet. Available in a variety of sizes.

• Arches and pergolas – Widely available, shop-bought arches in lots of sizes and shapes – made from metal, plastic or wood.

• Netting – Purpose made pea netting can be suspended, vertically, between posts or structures, or up either side of an a-frame. Available in biodegradable jute, metal or plastic.

• Teepees, wigwams and obelisks – Generally, conical-shaped structures, are wider at the base and come to a point at the top. These are made from wood, bamboo canes, willow sticks, plastic or metal and can be purchased from most garden centres.

• Sweet pea rings – A disc-shaped ring, usually made from plastic with spaces or clips to hold canes. To use, push bamboo canes or sticks into the ground, and clip them into the sweet pea ring at the top – this creates a teepee shape very easily.

• Pea and bean maypoles – Central support with cords or ropes coming from it. To use, the pole in the middle is poked into the ground, and then the cords are pegged into the soil at equal distances away from the middle.

Homemade structures –

• Teepees and wigwams – Make a simple teepee from willow or hazel sticks. Insert the canes into the soil in a circle, and then bring them together and tie them at the top. Add string going around the supports at equally spaced intervals, horizontally up the teepee.You can also use bamboo canes, but consider the impact on the environment shop-bought ones have compared to using cut sticks/branches from your garden.

• I made this one from Continus sticks and placed it around an off-cut of galvanised mesh for my short Lathyrus sativus seedlings to scramble over and up.

• Arches – Get creative and make arches from “brown” (dead), bent over willow rods tied together at the top. Soak it before use to make it easier to bend. Use more rods to weave horizontally through the uprights, at regular intervals. You can use hazel sticks too, but they will not be as rounded at the top as the hazel is less pliable.

• Living arches – Create a living arch from “green” (living) willow or hazel poked into the ground and tied at the top in an arch shape. It will shoot and create a textured, organic look. Be mindful that the growth does not swamp your sweet peas and trim as necessary.

• Netting – Create a “wall” of sweet peas by suspending netting between two posts, on the side of a pergola, or over a homemade A-shaped frame. You can buy jute gardening netting or make your own from jute twine or rope.

• Trellis, lattice and pergolas – You can, of course, make lots of other structures yourself from wood, branches or even metal if you have the know-how and machinery required!

• Get inventive! Use anything that you have to hand, which will provide adequate height and strength for your sweet pea plants. Look around and see what you could use. Here are some ideas of objects to recycle and reuse as plant supports: 

• Bedsprings from an unused bed hung vertically on a wall.
• Metal headboard (for smaller varieties).
• An old screen/door with chicken wire attached to the empty panel spaces.
• A wire dress form/mannequin (for shorter varieties of sweet peas).
• Bicycle wheels attached one on top of another to a vertical support or fence panel.

Scramblers and low-growers –

• Hedges – Some species such a the super-tough perennial sweet peas (Lathyrus latifolius) will happily scramble and climb on hedges. I have a medium sized everlasting sweet pea that doesn't require any support. It climbs through my small Yew hedge and along the picket fence. The support it gets from the open branches of the bushes is all it needs and it flowers quite happily along the length of the fence. 

• Low structures and cages – Short species like Lathyrus sativus will also quite happily scramble on low structures and plants. They may require tying in initially to encourage them to go where you want them to go.
• No support required – Bushy perennials such as Spring vetchling (Lathyrus vernus) is fully hardy and will grow early in the season without the need for additional support.

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There are countless ways to stake your sweet peas, but hopefully, this will get you started! I would love the see your sweet pea supports, so please tag me on Instagram, @talkingofplants, so I can have a peep. Follow me there to stay up to date with my garden and updates.

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You will find lots of sweet pea themed items in my shop, including a men's t-shirt, women's tie-side tee, men's jumper, women's jumper and pastel-coloured tea towel.

To shop my range of biodegradable garden string holders, visit the homeware section of my shop. They come with 10m of genuine Nutscene® jute twine in a variety of colours. Perfect for tying in your sweet peas!

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