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Ping :- Sweet pea experts
We have a 'wall' of sweet pea plants that have had a GLORIOUS display of
coloured flowers, still displaying but a bit past their best. Have had a lot of hover flies around them and there has been a lot of pollinating going on. Now we are being presented by mange tout things but they are 'furry'. I take it these are the seed pods of the sweet peas should these be taken of and dried or left in situ or ...? Any sweet peas we are likely to plant next year will be grown from plugs/bought seeds so do we actually want these pods for anything? |
Ping :- Sweet pea experts
On 2009-08-28 17:27:11 +0100, soup said:
We have a 'wall' of sweet pea plants that have had a GLORIOUS display of coloured flowers, still displaying but a bit past their best. Have had a lot of hover flies around them and there has been a lot of pollinating going on. Now we are being presented by mange tout things but they are 'furry'. I take it these are the seed pods of the sweet peas should these be taken of and dried or left in situ or ...? Any sweet peas we are likely to plant next year will be grown from plugs/bought seeds so do we actually want these pods for anything? Unless they're species sweet peas (like Lathyrus matucana) they're unlikely to come true from seed. You could keep a few ripe pods for fun and interest but otherwise, there's no reason to do so. But if you want to keep the flowers coming, cut off the seed pods straight away. We grow Lathyrus matucana which I am particularly fond of, so I'm going to keep some seed from those and see what happens. -- Sacha www.hillhousenursery.com Shrubs & perennials. Tender & exotics. South Devon |
Ping :- Sweet pea experts
"Sacha" wrote in message ... On 2009-08-28 17:27:11 +0100, soup said: We have a 'wall' of sweet pea plants that have had a GLORIOUS display of coloured flowers, still displaying but a bit past their best. Have had a lot of hover flies around them and there has been a lot of pollinating going on. Now we are being presented by mange tout things but they are 'furry'. I take it these are the seed pods of the sweet peas should these be taken of and dried or left in situ or ...? Any sweet peas we are likely to plant next year will be grown from plugs/bought seeds so do we actually want these pods for anything? Unless they're species sweet peas (like Lathyrus matucana) they're unlikely to come true from seed. You could keep a few ripe pods for fun and interest but otherwise, there's no reason to do so. But if you want to keep the flowers coming, cut off the seed pods straight away. We grow Lathyrus matucana which I am particularly fond of, so I'm going to keep some seed from those and see what happens. -- Sacha www.hillhousenursery.com Shrubs & perennials. Tender & exotics. South Devon Hello Sacha, hope you are well. I always understood that sweet peas came true from seed because of the way they were pollinated. Is that not correct then? Robert www.rraa.moonfruit.com |
Ping :- Sweet pea experts
On 2009-08-28 19:30:38 +0100, "Robert \(Plymouth\)"
said: "Sacha" wrote in message ... On 2009-08-28 17:27:11 +0100, soup said: We have a 'wall' of sweet pea plants that have had a GLORIOUS display of coloured flowers, still displaying but a bit past their best. Have had a lot of hover flies around them and there has been a lot of pollinating going on. Now we are being presented by mange tout things but they are 'furry'. I take it these are the seed pods of the sweet peas should these be taken of and dried or left in situ or ...? Any sweet peas we are likely to plant next year will be grown from plugs/bought seeds so do we actually want these pods for anything? Unless they're species sweet peas (like Lathyrus matucana) they're unlikely to come true from seed. You could keep a few ripe pods for fun and interest but otherwise, there's no reason to do so. But if you want to keep the flowers coming, cut off the seed pods straight away. We grow Lathyrus matucana which I am particularly fond of, so I'm going to keep some seed from those and see what happens. -- Sacha www.hillhousenursery.com Shrubs & perennials. Tender & exotics. South Devon Hello Sacha, hope you are well. I always understood that sweet peas came true from seed because of the way they were pollinated. Is that not correct then? Robert www.rraa.moonfruit.com I may be wrong but AIUI they don't do their best or produce good forms from collected seed and may have hybridised. I'm most willing to be corrected but that's what I learned some long years ago. I've only tried once from saved seed and got some very puny flowers of wishywashy colouring. Certainly we buy our seeds in every year and start off with new plants, except for me messing about with the species. -- Sacha www.hillhousenursery.com Shrubs & perennials. Tender & exotics. South Devon |
Ping :- Sweet pea experts
On 2009-08-29 10:24:26 +0100, Charlie Pridham
said: snip ut most of the older sweet peas can have the seed collected and you get exactly the same thing the next year Would that include the Spencer varieties, Charlie? -- Sacha www.hillhousenursery.com Shrubs & perennials. Tender & exotics. South Devon |
Ping :- Sweet pea experts
Charlie Pridham wrote:
It is certainly true that when the two halves of the flower when pushed apart by a bee entering pollen is placed on the stigma straight from the stamens and any pollen on the bee is unlikely to get a look in but it can and does occasionally happen, also of course the strain of pea being grown may not be seed stable and even when self pollinated will revert to something else. But most of the older sweet peas can have the seed collected and you get exactly the same thing the next year Thanks for that! It was fascinating!! O learning every day! |
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