Sweet Pea Trials.

In 2021, 2022, and 2023, I did some growing trials that included different Sweet Pea varieties.

The objectives were:

~ To become familiar with the different Sweet Pea varieties.

~ To find out when is the best time to grow Sweet Peas here at Fairy Wren Cottage.

~ Where in the garden is the best spot for growing Sweet Peas. (During Autumn and Winter, Liliana had great luck growing dwarf Sweet Peas outside the laundry door directly under the clothes dryer vent. The dwarf Sweet Peas were tucked in amongst Cornflowers, Nigella and California Poppies and loved the warm air from the vent).

~ Direct sowing vs sowing in seed trays inside.

~ To study the different Sweet Pea characteristics.

~ To buy seed from different suppliers to check their seed rate and reliability. Surprisingly, some Sweet Pea mixes only had one or two colours; not the promised multicolour mix on the packet. Some seed companies didn’t have a good strike rate compared to other companies. Poor strike rate could mean the seed companies were selling old seed or seed that wasn’t harvested or stored correctly.

~ See when and what bugs/slugs attack.

~ Let Honeybee in the garden for pest control and observe if she damaged the Sweet Pea roots or tried to eat the Sweet Peas, since all parts of the Sweet Pea are toxic. Honeybee has never tried to eat them, but keep a close eye on your pets and teach your dogs not to touch the Sweet Peas.

~ To have a reference point for moving forward with Sweet Pea growing.

 

 

Here at Fairy Wren Cottage, over the last fifteen years we have focused on open pollinated, heirloom/heritage varieties in the garden and heritage breed poultry. It is something that Michael, Liliana and I are very passionate about. I’d like to be able to grow at least some heirloom Sweet Pea varieties alongside the modern varieties. Mind you, the term “modern” is a fairly subjective one. One of my favourite Sweet Pea varieties is bred in the 1980s (which is now considered old). But I guess the 1980s varieties are deemed “modern” compared to a Sweet Pea bred in the 1890s.

 

 

Sweet Pea varieties that have (so far) been grown at Fairy Wren Cottage; some more successfully than others:

Painted Lady. Nimbus. Streamer Chocolate. Streamer Blue. Blue Shift. Elegance Mid Blue. Erewhon. Spencer Mix. America. Bijou Mix. Enchante. Piggy Sue. Turquoise Lagoon. King Size Navy. Wiltshire Ripple. Old Times. High Scent. Elegance Rose Pink. Old Spice. Little Sweetheart Mix. Mammoth Choice. Cupani.

 

 

Favourite Sweet Peas:

Asking me to choose a favourite Sweet Pea is like asking a parent to choose their favourite child. All Sweet Peas are beautiful and taste is subjective. For me, I love getting to know each Sweet Pea variety.

Sweet Pea Streamer Chocolate is a darling. High Scent is graceful. Elegance Mid Blue is a social butterfly; by itself the variety is lovely, but put Elegance Mid Blue with other Sweet Peas or flowers and this blue variety elevates the other blooms to another level. Turquoise Lagoon starts out with mauve flowers yet fades to shades of turquoise. Each variety has its own unique characteristics from bold and bright to shades of antique lace and the palest of pastels.

What are your favourite Sweet Pea colours? I love planning where to place Sweet Pea teepees in the garden and working out what Sweet Pea colour combinations to plant along the rows.

Love from the garden.

Jude x

 

 

Where I source my Sweet Pea seed from.

I now source all of my seed from Veggie and Flower Garden Seeds if I haven’t saved Sweet Pea seed from the previous growing season. They are a local Tasmanian specialty seed company available Australia wide. I’ve had 100% strike rate with their seeds. They dispatch very quickly and care about the environment.

To see the Veggie and Flower Garden Seeds’ Sweet Pea seed collection, please click here:

https://veggiegardenseeds.com.au/collections/sweet-pea-flower-seeds?page=1

 

Sweet Pea Breeder.

Dr Keith Hammett @drkeithhammett is a leading professional breeder of ornamental plants. He has bred many Sweet Pea varieties, some are pictured in my photographs.

https://www.drkeithhammett.co.nz/about-sweetpeas/

 

 

For more Sweet Pea blog posts:

Sowing Sweet Pea Seeds at Fairy Wren Cottage

https://fairywrencottage.com/2025/03/23/sowing-sweet-pea-seeds-at-fairy-wren-cottage/