A Guide to Buying Gorgeous Sweet Pea Plants for Your Garden

Sweet peas have unmistakable fragrance and old-fashioned charm. The length of the day can affect when annual sweet pea flowers bloom. They can be long day (flowering in the spring and summer), short day (flowering in the fall and winter), or day neutral (flowering whenever the weather is cool). Since sweet pea flowers do best in cool weather, places with mild winters and hot summers should plant short-day types in late summer or fall for cool-season bloom. Places with cold winters and early spring should plant sweet pea seeds in late winter or early spring. No matter when you sow them, look forward their unmistakable fragrance and old-fashioned charm.

With their incredibly fragrant and stunning blooms, sweet pea plants are a must-have for any garden Their vining habit also makes them perfect for trellises, fences, and containers. If you’re looking to add some sweet peas to your outdoor space, you have plenty of options when it comes to buying these delightful plants. In this guide, I’ll walk you through everything you need to know about purchasing sweet pea plants for sale.

An Overview of Sweet Peas

Sweet peas (Lathyrus odoratus) are hardy annual climbing plants best known for their incredibly fragrant flowers. The blooms come in a diverse range of colors like white, pink, purple, red, blue, and apricot. Many varieties also have two-toned flowers.

Popular types of sweet peas include

Heirloom – Vintage open-pollinated varieties with ruffled blooms.

Spencer – Large, ruffled blooms on long stems perfect for cutting. The most common type grown.
Multiflora – Clusters of small flowers good for bedding.
Perennial – Long-lived Lathyrus latifolius species.

Sweet peas grow best in full sun and moist, fertile soil. Provide support like a trellis for the vines to climb. Blooming starts in late spring and lasts until summer heat. Deadheading prolongs flowering.

Where to Buy Sweet Pea Plants

You have several options when it comes to purchasing sweet pea plants for your garden:

Online Stores

Ordering plants online provides access to a huge selection of sweet pea varieties. Reputable online sellers ship healthy, established plants ready to transplant into your garden after the last frost. Some top online plant stores include:

GrowJoy – Offers over 30 types of new and heirloom sweet peas.
Burpee – Wide selection of seeds and plants, including multiflora and perennial sweet peas.
American Meadows – Specializes in perennial plants but carries a few heirloom sweet pea varieties.

High Country Gardens – Focused on plants for dry climates but has a few adaptable sweet peas.

Local Nurseries

Visit local garden centers and nurseries to shop for sweet peas in person. This allows you to see and choose specific plants. The selection is often limited to a few popular varieties. Talk to the staff for recommendations on the best types to grow in your area.

Farmer’s Markets

In many areas, local farmers and growers sell pots of sweet peas at farmer’s markets in spring. These are usually started plants ready to finish growing in your garden. Farmer’s markets are great sources for locally adapted heirloom varieties.

Mail Order Nurseries

Some mail order nurseries focus specifically on selling sweet pea plants through printed catalogs or websites. Since they specialize in sweet peas, the selection of types and colors is unmatched. Two excellent examples are:

Sweet Pea Gardens – Family-owned specialty grower offering 30+ heirloom and unique sweet peas.
Floret Farm – Well-known cut flower farm with a curated selection of vintage and new sweet peas.

What to Look for When Buying

To get the best results from your sweet peas, inspect plants carefully before purchasing:

Check for signs of pests like aphids, caterpillars, or thrips. Avoid any infested plants.

Seek stocky seedlings around 4-6 inches tall that haven’t gotten leggy from low light or overcrowding.
Look for dark green leaves without yellowing, browning, or leaf spot damage.
Search for plants with healthy white root systems, not root-bound or with roots growing out of the drainage holes.

For mail order buying, only purchase from companies that ship at the proper planting time for your zone.

How to Plant Sweet Peas

Here are some tips for getting your new sweet pea plants established successfully:

Prepare garden beds with compost and trellises or other plant supports in advance.
Transplant seedlings outdoors only after the last spring frost date has passed.
Water the plants well after transplanting and provide afternoon shade for a few days.

Space plants 4-6 inches apart in rows spaced 1-2 feet apart for ample airflow and sun exposure.
Fertilize with a balanced organic fertilizer once blooming begins.
Mulch around plants to retain soil moisture and control weeds.

With the right growing conditions, your sweet peas will thrive, producing an abundance of fragrant blooms to enjoy.

Enjoying and Preserving Sweet Pea Flowers

Once they get going, sweet peas produce loads of flowers. Here are ideas for enjoying the blooms:

Cut flowers for bouquets. Strip off the lower leaves and place in a vase immediately.
Float blooms in bowls for a fragrant centerpiece.

Weave flowers into wreaths, flower crowns, and other floral decor.
Candy the flowers by brushing with egg whites and coating with superfine sugar.
Dry the fragrant blooms to keep their form and scent.

Freeze in ice cubes to add to drinks.

Creating Stunning Displays with Sweet Peas

Aside from cutting blooms, you can also grow sweet peas specifically for stunning garden displays:

Arbors and Pergolas

Train sweet pea vines over entryways and pathways on structures like arbors and pergolas. You’ll be treated to heavenly fragrance and a flurry of color when the blooms cover the structure.

Along Fences and Walls

Grow sweet peas up against fences, garden walls, or the exterior of buildings like sheds, barns, and garages. The vines will completely blanket the structures in no time.

Container Plantings

Grow sweet peas in containers and trellises on patios, porches, and decks. Go for dwarf bush-type or short vining varieties that won’t overwhelm the pots.

Cut Flower Gardens

Devoting a garden bed solely to growing sweet peas for cutting provides buckets of flowers to enjoy indoors. Plant in single rows spaced 1-2 feet apart for easy access.

Bring Sweet Pea Beauty to Your Garden

With stunning diversity in flower colors and growth habits, it’s easy to find sweet pea plants perfect for your garden goals. Seek out reputable online and local sources to get the freshest plants shipped or ready for picking up in spring. Then give them ideal growing conditions so you can enjoy sweet pea beauty all season long.

Growing Sweet Peas from Seed

FAQ

When should I buy sweet pea plants?

You can buy sweet pea plug plants in spring. Plant them in fertile soil beneath a support, such as a wigwam made of bamboo canes. Most sweet peas will grow to about 2m in height. Water in well until they’ve put on good growth.

Why are sweet peas so hard to grow?

Sweet peas are a little more finicky than most other varieties when it comes to growing conditions. I think the biggest mistake we all make is actually growing them too warm. For us, we soak the sweet peas, sow the seeds and boot them right out into the propagation house.

Do sweet pea flowers come back every year?

While the common sweet pea is an annual, there is also a perennial unscented broad-leaved everlasting pea, Lathyrus latiflolius. These clambering plants can reach up to 6 or 7 feet and are hardy to zone 5; they are low-maintenance plants that flower regularly year on year.

What is the secret to growing sweet peas?

Sweet peas like to eat and, if you feed them well, will grow strong stems and many blooms. So it’s important to enrich the soil before planting them. Dig a few bags of sheep or cow manure into your garden beds before sowing the sweet pea seeds. If you’ve got a compost tumbler, add some compost as well.