This year, all my sweet peas are grown from seed gathered from plants I bought from Sarah Raven last year. There were 3 kinds and they’ve grown in 3 ways:

• Planted in Autumn and over-wintered in the greenhouse
• Planted in Spring in the greenhouse and grown on
• Self-seeded and grew outside all by themselves all winter

They are a mixed bag. The ones that grew by themselves are the strongest. I thought they might be wild everlasting sweet peas when they came up as they were so robust in the winter but one has purple and blue flowers and one blue.

Some are doing okay. They’re not AS good as Sarah Raven grown ones, but they’re not a disaster.

Some are spindly and weedy and totally failing to thrive. I don’t know why. I’ve fed and watered them. Some don’t get much sun (as they are so small – lots of sun higher up) but some do. The internet suggests it’s pretty hard to fail with sweet peas and has no ideas.

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I don’t seem to have any of the red ones. And not many of the blue. I wonder if the spindly ones are red ones? Or if the spindly ones are across all types but lacking something? More thought needed.