Dorset, United Kingdom
Can sweet peas that have been over wintered since October be planted out now? I am in bournemouth on south coast. I know they are hardy but RHS website says not until last frost?? They are rather big, some shoots over a foot long and outgrowing the pots, they look like they need to start climbing!
- 5 Mar, 2016
Answers
You could transfer them to a cold frame, once hardened off, but if you haven't got one of those, then you're a bit stuck - you can pinch or cut them right back, which will encourage more branching, and should be done anyway for autumn sown seeds, but there's a long way to go till end of May (though in your area, you could probably count that as mid May or earlier, depending on weather conditions at the time).
6 Mar, 2016
Luckily I only planted out 7, so the 4 I put in a pot I have brought back in , the 3 I planted in the ground I have put 2 litre bottles over them and some fleece, will see how they get on.... We have -1 degrees forecast tonight, anyone think this protection will be sufficient?
6 Mar, 2016
With luck, possibly... the ground's not frozen, and -1 for a couple of hours in the midst of night isn't enough for it to freeze either
6 Mar, 2016
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6 Mar, 2016
I put mine out far too early last year...in mid March. They had plastic bottles over them. They survived. I pinched them out as they were similar to yours..leggy. I wish I'd left it till later, but even if they do get damaged they will most likely come back once the weather warms up a bit. Mine did, and most of the top growth was killed completely. It was just a waste of time and effort as they were growing so well in the greenhouse all winter. This year I'm only doing spring sown.
6 Mar, 2016
Thanks for the advice- I dug them up and bought them back into conservatory as it was bugging me and as you say didn't want to waste all the good growth they've had over the last 4 months!!
6 Mar, 2016
Good idea! :)
6 Mar, 2016
Next year sow the seeds outside in Sept/October then they will grow away when the weather suits them. It saves all the worry of planting out times. You should still pinch them back as Bamboo has explained.
7 Mar, 2016
I would plant them out a week or two after the last frost date of your grow zone. In the meantime, you can build a makeshift trellis they can climb up indoors until the date is up.
5 Mar, 2016