The sweet pea flowers shine through the garden like small, colorful splashes of color, enveloped in a delicate scent. For this reason, the acrobatic climber is at home in many green spaces and beautifies house walls and bare fences.
What should you consider when caring for a vetch climbing plant?
The vetch is a fast-growing, annual climbing plant that requires a trellis to find support and grow up to two meters high. Wire mesh fences are ideal as climbing frames; the location should be sheltered from the wind and sunny.
Attractive vegetation for one year
Many types of vetch grow as annuals and are extremely fast-growing. During the summer months they easily reach heights of up to two meters. It is important that you give the plants a climbing aid so that they can find enough support.
Suitable climbing frames
Wire mesh fences are ideal because the vetch's climbing organs can hold on to them easily. Thick wooden trellises, on the other hand, are less ideal because the delicate plant cannot grow around the strong struts. In this case, simply nail wire mesh to the wooden frame and the vetch will reach for the sky in no time.
Make sure that the location is sheltered from the wind and sunny so that the vines are not snapped by winds.
Let sweet peas grow bushy
If you let the vetch climb the trellis freely, it will grow bushy and very lush. Only remove weak or dried shoots at regular intervals, as these cost the plant unnecessary energy and impair its appearance.
Stage sweet peas
It looks extremely attractive if you grow the sweet peas using the espalier method. Bamboo or plant sticks that are not too thick are well suited. Proceed as follows:
- Plant young plants in front of a trellis and let them grow undisturbed until they are about 25 centimeters tall.
- Then pinch off the weaker side shoots.
- Cut tendrils at the leaves.
- Tie the main shoot to the stick.
This means that the plant puts all its strength into this main shoot and the flower formation. This makes the flowers very large and can be easily cut for the vase.
Water sweet peas regularly
The abundance of greenery in the vetch evaporates a lot of moisture, and not just on hot summer days. The climbing plants must therefore be watered sufficiently.
It is also recommended to mulch the vetch. The cut tendrils are well suited for this, as they also provide the plant with valuable nutrients.
Tip
So that the vetch produces many flowers, it is important to remove dead flowers regularly. This means the plant doesn't even have the opportunity to set seeds and continues to bloom well into autumn. This care measure also prevents unwanted insemination.
