44 
House & Garden 
THE TRUTH ABOUT SWEET PEAS 
Cultural Facts that Ensure Success in Growing Your Own—Why Ninety-eight Per Cent 
of Flower Quality Depends upon the Grower 
WILLIAM C. McCOLLOM 
'T'HE popularity of 
A the sweet pea is any¬ 
thing but a fad. Other 
flowers come and go: at 
the height of their popu¬ 
larity the pendulum of 
public sentiment swings 
the other way. For isn’t 
it a fact that a great many 
of our popular flowers 
have hard and fast limi¬ 
tations? After a certain 
degree of perfection is at¬ 
tained, the flowers re¬ 
spond no further; they 
become monstrosities, 
they lose their form, their 
color, or some other es¬ 
sential. This is not true 
of sweet peas, which 
have been improving 
steadily for two hundred 
years. Their stems have lengthened, their 
flowers increased in size and numbers, with a 
great improvement in form, range of color, 
and no loss of fragrance. 
Of course, the importance of the sweet pea 
lies largely in its value as a cut flower. When 
well grown it has sufficient length of stem 
for all purposes—stems over 22" in length 
have been exhibited. The flowers are without 
doubt the finest formed of any of the more 
easily grown kinds, and the range of color is 
greater than in any other annual. For garden 
effects, too, sweet peas are ideal. They can be 
grouped in perennial plantings by using poul¬ 
try wire columns to support the vines; they 
can be grown in tubs for piazza or house deco¬ 
ration, or with special supports such as huge 
globes, pyramids, umbrellas, etc. The quality 
of the flowers is 98 per cent dependent upon 
the grower. You can blame no one but your¬ 
self if your sweet peas are not good. 
The Sweet Pea’s Origin 
The sweet pea came originally 
from Sicily, Ceylon and Sar¬ 
dinia, each land contributing 
different colored specimens. If 
we could see what these small, 
short stemmed, miserable colored 
flowers were like we would have 
a direct answer to those who 
continually shout about how 
Nature cares for her own. She 
does care, but not with the same 
degree of perfection that man 
does. The sweet pea entered the 
commercial field about 1700, and 
it is only since that time that 
you can estimate the improve¬ 
ments. Then the wings were no 
larger than the standards, while 
today they measure fully 2" 
across in first class flowers. The 
stems were 2" or 3" long, while 
now they are almost 2'. 
Sweet peas are the most re¬ 
sponsive flowers we have in cul¬ 
tivation. If you scatter a little 
fertilizer at the base of the 
plants the hungry little 
white roots will soon 
come up and get it. If 
the plants are wilting, a 
little water sets them im¬ 
mediately erect, strong 
and sturdy. Their one 
weakness is a dislike of 
hot weather, and this is 
being gradually but sure¬ 
ly overcome by the intro¬ 
duction of varieties that 
have more heat-resisting 
power. 
There are two distinct 
methods of handling 
sweet peas in the vicinity 
of New York and north¬ 
wards. One is to sow 
the seeds in pots in the 
greenhouse some time 
during late February or 
early March, and after a hardening process 
to set the plants out when the weather is favor¬ 
able. The other is to sow directly into rows 
out of doors, just as early as the ground can 
be worked. The former method is preferred, 
but only a small percentage of the lovers of 
this grand flower have a greenhouse. 
Starting Seeds Indoors 
When starting indoors several seeds are sown 
in a 4" pot. These are later thinned out to 
one plant, of course always selecting the strong¬ 
est. The soil used should not contain too 
much fertilizing value or the plant will re¬ 
spond with an undesirably heavy growth. The 
object is to get a well established root system 
with a minimum of top growth. The pots 
should be placed in a cool greenhouse or frame 
and the night temperature should never exceed 
50°. About April 1st the hardening off process 
can be started. It should be gradual but thor¬ 
ough, and ought to take from three to four 
weeks, to be on the safe side. 
To quote from a reliable au¬ 
thority, “the trenches should be 
well prepared.” But just dig- 
ding under a little manure is 
not sufficient if you want good 
flowers. The soil the plants are 
to grow in must be lavishly rich; 
this is the big factor in the pro¬ 
duction of sweet peas. Trench 
the ground 2' deep, add good 
manure in liberal quantities, a 
fair sprinkling of bone meal, 
and some lime. Sweet peas, like 
other legumes or pod-bearing 
plants, will not do well in soils 
which are acid. 
A simple way to prepare the 
ground is to dig trenches 2' deep, 
placing the top soil or spit at 
one side of the trench and the 
bottom soil at the other. Place 
several inches of well-rotted 
manure in the bottom (barn¬ 
yard manure is preferred, if 
you can get it), and over this 
about 6" of soil into which has 
A layer of well rotted manure 
should be put in the bottom 
of the trench 
Sweet peas are so vigorous 
that they will push up 
through 4" of soil 
Hardening off is an essential operation before setting out sweet 
peas. Three to four weeks, beginning early in April, will ac¬ 
complish it 
When sown in the ground 
outside, the seeds are broad¬ 
cast and then covered 
