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Sweet pea flowers

How to sow sweet pea seeds

Find out how to sow sweet peas for your own crop of fragrant cut flowers, in our How-to guide.

A table displaying which months are best to sow, plant and harvest.
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
To do
To do

Do To do in January

Do To do in February

Do To do in March

Do To do in April

Do To do in May

Do not To do in June

Do not To do in July

Do not To do in August

Do not To do in September

Do not To do in October

Do not To do in November

Do not To do in December

Sweet peas are some of the the most versatile plants you can grow.

Train them up a trellis, pergola or obelisk, or support them with canes in large pots. They bring height and colour to borders and their scented blooms can be used as cut flowers.

Sweet peas dislike root disturbance so grow them in cardboard tubes, growing tubes or coir pots. This will enable you to plant them out in their containers without damaging the roots.

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Follow these easy steps to grow beautiful and fragrant sweet peas from seed.

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You Will Need

  • Sweet pea seeds
  • Seed compost
  • Cardboard tubes

Step 1

Sow seeds individually into seed compost. Water well and place on a sunny windowsill or in a greenhouse or heated propagator.

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Sowing sweet peas - sowing the seed
Sowing sweet peas – sowing the seed

Step 2

Water the sweet peas regularly. As they grow, you’ll notice roots start to emerge through the sides of the cardboard tubes.

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Sowing sweet peas - potting on young plants
Sowing sweet peas – potting on young plants

Step 3

Pinch out the growing point when seedlings have two-three pairs of leaves, to encourage bushy growth. Harden the plants off before planting out.
See our guide to 10 of the best garden cold frames to protect your young plants from the cold.

Sowing sweet peas - pinching out the shoots
Sowing sweet peas – pinching out the shoots
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Sweet peas are climbing plants and need structures to grow up. Use wires, netting or twine to tie in stems to their supports.

Red watering can