WINTER-FLOWERING SWEET PEAS AT WISLEY, 1914-15- 115 



WINTER-FLOWERING SWEET PEAS AT WISLEY, 1914-15. 



Report by C. C. Titchmarsh, Trials Officer. 



The forcing of Sweet Peas into flower during winter and early spring 

 has seldom been practised with success in this country. In the United 

 States, however, varieties such as ' Blanche Ferry ' and ' Mont Blanc,' 

 well known as rather early-flowering kinds, have for some time been 

 flowered under glass in winter. During the last few years a number 

 of varieties, said to be of distinct type from the summer varieties, 

 have been grown in this manner. In order to ascertain what value 

 such varieties possess in this country, the Council authorized a Trial 

 of Sweet Peas for winter flowering in the winter of 1914-1915. Seed 

 was sent from sources as widely separated as Australia, California, 

 North Africa, and the South of France, while a number of plants were 

 received from an English grower. The seeds of most of the varieties 

 were sown on July 29, and at the same time those of a number of 

 well-known ' Spencer ' and ' Grandiflora ' varieties were sown for 

 comparison. A number of varieties, received late, were not sown 

 till September 8. The plants resulting from these were less vigorous 

 than those produced by the earlier sowing. In a few cases more, and 

 in some cases less, than ten seeds of a variety were received. As the 

 germination was not good it was possible in but few cases to raise more 

 than five or six plants of a variety. After germination the seedlings 

 were grown in five-inch pots in a cold frame. On November 5 the 

 plants were potted into twelve-inch pots and were placed on the stage 

 of a cold greenhouse. It was then apparent that the collection con- 

 tained representatives of at least two distinct types : in one the plants 

 formed unbranched stems with long internodes, the others branched 

 prof usely with thicker, shorter internodes, and broader, darker leaves. 



During November and December the plants made little progress 

 and called for the exercise of great care in watering. It is probable that 

 the low intensity of light during these months was responsible for the 

 check. 



It was not until the opening weeks of the New Year that growth 

 recommenced ; the plants of the first-mentioned type grew rapidly and 

 began to form flower-buds, usually from the sixteenth to the twentieth 

 node above the soil level. As the plants were considered to be too 

 weak and spindly to bear flowers, the buds were removed, as soon as 

 they appeared, until the middle of February. The first flower opened 

 on February 27, and was rapidly followed by others until a fortnight 

 later all the plants of the single-stemmed type were in bloom. They 

 reached a height of 2 J to 4I feet. The removal of the earlier flower- 

 buds made it impossible to ascertain the comparative earliness of 



