Grow them in hanging baskets or on trellis, sweet peas add bucolic beauty to your gardening space.
This annual flowering plant is a cool season crop that can be grown in USDA zones 2 to 11.
You can use this ornamental plant is used to beautify the border of your vegetable gardening. This way it attracts pollinators to your edible plants.
Sweet peas don’t like hot weather and need to maintain moisture evenly. However, in colder climates you can regulate watering sweet peas plant to once in a week.
How much water sweet peas plant need depends on various factors like climatic condition in your region, growing medium and temperature.
Accordingly, you must reduce or increase watering frequency.
New gardeners can follow a thumb rule; check the soil moisture by inserting your index finger by 1 inch.
If the soil is dry, then you must deep water your sweet peas plant. Else, allow the potting soil to dry.
Know Sweet Peas Plant
- Ideal temperature to grow sweet peas plant ranges between 55F to 65F. (Source)
- Soil should be able to retain moisture for longer time. However, it should drain well to avoid overwatering.
- Alkaline soil is preferred to grow this ornamental plant.
- To stay healthy and bloom, sweet peas need full sun exposure.
- Watering once in a week to keep the soil moist.
This annual flowering plant has gained popularity due to its blossoms, which are available in range of different colors with a blend of honey, orange and jasmine fragrance.
You can to have this easy growing ornamental plant in backyard, in hanging basket or indoors. Early sowing is the main key to have these colorful blossoms in spring.
Gardeners who’re living in regions with mild winter can start sowing sweet peas seeds in late autumn to have blossoms in late winter or early spring.
Don’t wait for the last frost. You can start the seed germination process early and shift the seedlings once the soil outside is dry enough.
Also Read: 12 Best Perennial Flowers for Your Garden
How Often to Water Sweet Peas?
Watering sweet peas plant is crucial.
You can’t expect life, growth or blossoms without right amount of water.
Plants need water and sunlight to produce their food. But, that doesn’t mean to overwater the plants.
Most new gardeners overwater their plants and eventually kill them.
Watering frequency will be changed according to climatic condition, growing soil and plant location.
This is why you must first know your plant before asking how often should I water?
Here are some important take aways of watering frequency of sweet peas plant.
- Soil should be well-drained and able to retain moisture.
- Water sweet peas flowering plant generously once in a week.
- In hot days, you must increase watering frequency.
- Watering early in the morning is preferred, so the water droplets on leaves can be evaporated till evening.
- Deep watering your sweet peas plant will make sure the water reach roots thoroughly.
Also Read: How Much Light Does ZZ Plant Need?
Overwatering Sweet Peas – How to Avoid?
Yellow foliage, stunted plant growth and root rot are common symptoms that show you’re overwatering your plant.
If you ignore or continue watering, then eventually this ornamental plant will die.
How to revive?
Stop watering!
Check the growing soil is well drained and if needed change the plant location to get full sun.
Allow the soil to dry completely.
Start watering once in a week. Allow the soil to dry between watering.
Note: Don’t allow the soil to dry completely. Only top 1inch of the potting soil should be dry while watering.
Underwatering Sweet Peas – How to Avoid?
It is important to water sweet peas regularly to get blossoms.
Underwatering plants isn’t common when compared to overwatering.
However, your indoor plants are left underwatered when you go on an unplanned vacation.
To combat, you should arrange drop irrigation system to keep the growing soil moist, particularly when they are about to bloom.
Signs of underwatered sweet peas are drooping leaves, yellow foliage, less blossoms, stunted growth and bone dry soil.
If your growing medium isn’t retaining moisture for longer time, then you must increase watering frequency to twice or thrice in a week.
How to revive?
Start watering your sweet peas plant generously, till you see the excess water is drained out.
Check this out: Should I Use Grow Lights for Indoor Plants in Winter?
How to Water Sweet Peas Flowering Plant?
As a gardener you must know how to and when to water your sweet peas flowering plant.
By deep watering method, your plant roots get water which will encourage the plant to bloom.
Watering in early morning will avoid fungal infestation that can be caused due to water droplets on leaves.
Water at the base of sweet peas plant will avoid several fungi infestation.
Note: Insert your index finger in the soil and check for the moisture. Don’t water if the soil is sticky.
Sweet Peas Plant Care
You can start sowing sweet peas seeds indoors in autumn.
Once the frost has passed, transplant the seedlings to backyard.
Growing medium or potting soil plays vital role in growing successfully and healthy sweet peas flowering plant.
- Well-drained and fertile soil is preferred to grow this ornamental plant.
- Use mulch around the plant base to improve moisture retentiveness.
- This flowering plant needs full sun exposure to produce a bunch of blossoms.
- When the young sweet peas reach 10cm long, pinch of tip so that it grows bushy.
- You must support young sweet peas plant by using wooden sticks.
Why are my sweet pea flowers dropping off?
In hot weather soil dries up quickly.
Dry and parched soil is held responsible for dropping off sweet pea flowers.
Deep watering and keeping the soil moist will help to avoid this problem.
Also Read: Why Jade Plant Leaves Turning Yellow & Falling Off?
In a Nut Shell
Sweet peas flowering plant needs to be watered once in a week.
However, in hot summer days you must increase the frequency to keep the soil moist.
In winter, deep watering once in a week will be enough keep the plant healthy.
But, as a thumb rule insert index finger in growing soil and check for moisture. Water the plant if the soil is dry.
While watering ensure you don’t overwater the plant. Excess water logged under roots results in root rot.
Khaja Moinuddin, a computer science graduate, finds joy in gardening and homesteading. Join him on this blog as he shares his experiences in homesteading, gardening, and composting