Read a commented vetch profile here with information on growth, flowering time and use. You can find out how to sow vetch seeds correctly here. Lots of planting and care tips for Lathyrus odoratus.
What are the location and care requirements for vetch (Lathyrus odoratus)?
The sweet pea (Lathyrus odoratus) is an annual climbing plant valued in gardens for its lavish flowers and intense fragrance. It grows in sunny to partially shaded locations and requires nutrient-rich, well-drained soil and regular watering and fertilization.
Profile
- Scientific name: Lathyrus odoratus
- Genus: Peas (Lathyrus)
- Family: Legumes (Fabaceae)
- Synonyms: sweet pea, sweet pea, garden vetch
- Growth type: annual climbing plant
- Growth height: 50 cm to 250 cm
- Leaf: pinnate
- Flower: grape-like
- Fruit: Pod
- Toxicity: poisonous
- Winter hardiness: sensitive to frost
- Use: cottage garden, green fence, natural garden
Growth
In gardening terms, vetch is short for sweet pea, sweet pea and garden vetch (Lathyrus odoratus). Behind this name lies a lavishly flowering plant species of the genus flat peas (Lathyrus). For more than 300 years, Lathyrus odoratus has been valued in European gardens as the epitome of romantic abundance of flowers. The original sweet pea was discovered at the end of the 17th century in the southern Italian monastery garden of Father Francesco Cupani (born January 21, 1657 - January 19, 1710). To this day, sweet peas are an integral part of the creative design of country house and cottage gardens. The high level of appreciation is based primarily on these characteristics of growth:
- Growth type: annual, herbaceous climbing plant.
- Growth habit: hairy, climbing, bushy-branched stems with numerous pinnate leaves and intensely fragrant butterfly flowers.
- Growth height: 50 cm to 250 cm.
- Roots: in symbiosis with nodule bacteria for improved absorption and processing of nitrogen.
- Ghorticulturally interesting properties: sensitive to frost, easy to care for, bee-friendly, tolerates cutting, improves soil, slightly toxic.
Bloom
The sweet pea showcases its floral magic with these flowers:
- Flower shape: racemose inflorescence with 2 to 7 individual flowers.
- Single flower: Butterfly flower (1 upright flower flag, 2 lateral flower wings, 2 lower petals grow together to form a boat).
- Flower size: 2 cm to 4 cm long.
- Flower colors: white, pink, red, black-red, purple, violet, blue or two-tone.
- Flowering time: June to September.
- Flower ecology: hermaphrodite, nectar-bearing.
With a remarkable nectar and pollen value of 3, the sweet pea is one of the most beautiful flowers for the bee-friendly garden.
Leaf
The romantic, opulent ornamental value of a sweet pea is intensified by a decorative foliage with these features:
- Leaf shape: paired pinnate.
- Pinnules: ovate-elliptical, 2 cm to 6 cm long, 1 cm to 3 cm wide.
- Special feature: filigree, terminal tendril on each leaflet.
- Leaf color: light green to gray-green.
- Arrangement: opposite
As is characteristic of sweet peas, small stipules with a length of 1.5 cm to 2 cm grow at the base of the leaf of a vetch.
Fruit
Pollinated vetch flowers undergo a transformation process in autumn into fruits with these characteristics:
- Type of fruit: Legume with 8 seeds.
- Fruit shape: elongated-flattened, two-lobed, hairy.
- Fruit size: 5 cm to 7 cm long, 1.0 to 1.2 cm wide.
- Special feature: Vetch seeds are slightly poisonous due to various amino acids.
At this point a note for hobby gardeners with a family garden: In the following care instructions you can read how you can avoid the slight toxic content of vetch seeds.
Usage
The annual vetch climbs rapidly to lofty heights, blooms profusely, smells seductively, forms a dense layer of leaves and enriches the soil with nitrogen. These floral talents make sweet peas a sought-after summer beauty with numerous uses. Let these ideas inspire you for your garden and balcony:
| Garden | Plant idea | Balcony | Plant idea |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cottage Garden | romantic fence greening | Flower box | lush hanging flower |
| Natural Garden | Vetch round trellis as a bee pasture | traffic light | Dwarf Vetch in Hanging Basket |
| Vegetable garden | Dwarf vetch as a flowering green manure | Pot with willow pyramid | beautiful as a climbing flower |
| Front yard | fragrant-flowering wall greenery | Bucket with privacy shrub | Vetch as a flowering underplanting |
| Drywall | Hanging flower for the wall crown | Balcony box with trellis | Sweet pea as a colorful privacy screen |
As a cut flower, the sweet pea is a feast for the eyes in every vase. Simply cut off the most beautiful stems with flowers and place them in the vase. The shelf life of sweet peas as cut flowers is limited to one to two weeks. The more often you cut a beautiful sweet pea bouquet, the more luxuriantly the climbing plant will bloom.
Planting sweet peas
Sweet peas are easy to plant. Vetch seeds can be sown inexpensively either directly in the bed or on the windowsill. You can buy ready-to-plant sweet peas in spring at any well-stocked nursery. These short instructions with practical tips and tricks explain where and how to plant sweet peas correctly:
Location, soil quality, substrate
At this location the annual vetch unfolds its full splendor:
- Sunny to semi-shady location.
- Premium location: full sun and sheltered from the wind on the south side of a pergola, fence, house wall or balcony.
- Garden soil: nutrient-rich, fresh to moist, well-drained, calcareous,
- Pot substrate: Mixture of potting soil without peat, compost and coconut soil in equal parts with sand and algae lime as additives.
- Exclusion criteria: full shade, waterlogging, windy, lime-poor, acidic soil with a pH value less than 6.
Prepare sowing
A warm bath increases the germination of vetch seeds. A climbing aid should be ready in good time so that the fast-growing, young tendrils can hold on to it and grow upwards. How to properly prepare for sowing:
- Put on gloves.
- Roughen the hard shell of the seeds with sandpaper.
- Fill a used thermos flask with lukewarm water or chamomile tea.
- Allow vetch seeds to soak for 24 hours.
- Install a trellis at the intended location.
Suitable climbing aids are a trellis (e.g. willow double trellis), pergola, trellis on the facade or a fence (e.g. self-built picket fence).
Sowing in the bed
The time window for direct sowing sweet peas in the garden bed opens in April. Hobby gardeners in harsh locations wait until early/mid-May to sow. Sweet pea seeds are normal and dark germinators. Using gloved hands, press the soaked seeds into the fine, crumbly soil at a distance of 5 cm to 10 cm. When planting in rows, make a 4 cm deep furrow along the trellis, place the seeds in it and press the soil firmly with both hands to ensure a good soil seal. Water the seedbed with a fine spray and ensure protection from voracious snails.
Growing on the windowsill
Veches grown on the windowsill or in the greenhouse start the season with a considerable growth lead. The best medium for sowing are pots made of coconut fiber. This has the advantage that a young vetch can later be planted in the bed or pot together with the growing pot. The following quick guide explains how to do it correctly:
- Place the spring pot in a waterproof bowl.
- Pour water over it and wait for the swelling process to take a few minutes.
- Press the vetch seed 1 cm to 2 cm deep into the recess of the pot.
- Keep constantly slightly moist on a bright windowsill.
- Germination time: 10 to 21 days at 15° to 20° Celsius.
- Extra tip: Prune seedlings with at least 2 pairs of leaves repeatedly for dense, bushy growth.
The following video reveals when you can start growing sweet peas:
Video: James the gardener recommends: Sowing sweet peas in autumn - this is how it works
Planting
You can plant pre-grown or ready-to-plant sweet peas in beds, pots and balcony boxes. The expert planting technique aims to achieve strong, he althy growth and lush flowers until autumn. The following planting tips explain what is important:
- The volume of the planting hole is twice as large as the root ball or growing pot.
- In the planter, a layer of expanded clay or grit acts as drainage against waterlogging.
- Place young vetch in water before planting until no more air bubbles appear.
- Remove the purchase container from the water-soaked root ball before planting.
- The planting depth remains unchanged and takes into account a watering margin of 1 cm to 2 cm.
For even growth on the climbing aid, loosely tie the tendrils to the lower struts. It is advantageous to position the plant slightly at an angle to provide climbing support.
Excursus
Dream team vetch and farmer's rose
The summer floral fairytale is perfect when you combine sweet peas and country roses. Vetch (Lathyrus odoratus) and hollyhock (Alcea rosea) agree on location requirements, flowering time and climbing height. For an extra long flowering period, it is joined by the opulent peony (Paeonia officinalis), which displays its lavish flowers from May to June.
Care for sweet peas
The annual vetch is very easy to care for. The focus is on a regular supply of water and nutrients. Pruning care promotes lush flowering and prevents the growth of poisonous fruits. You can keep emerging diseases and pests at bay with simple home remedies. Care tips worth knowing in brief:
Pouring
- Keep vetch constantly moist in the bed and pot.
- Pour the bed soil and potting substrate when the surface is noticeably dry (finger test).
- Let normal tap water run directly onto the root disc.
- Do not spray stems, leaves and flowers with a water hose to prevent mildew.
Fertilize
- Fertilize vetch weekly from April to September.
- Add liquid flower fertilizer to the irrigation water according to the manufacturer's instructions.
Cutting
- Trop sweet peas once or twice during cultivation to create bushy branches.
- Clean out wilted flowers every few days so that new flowers and no poisonous legumes form.
- Alternatively, cut back the climbing plant by half or a third after the first flower bloom.
- Extra tip: in an adult-only garden, do not clean out all the withered flowers for fruit and seed formation for self-sowing and seed harvesting.
Propagate
Sweet peas are easy and promising to propagate by sowing. If you follow the cutting recommendation above and do not clean out all the withered flowers, you can harvest ripe legumes in autumn. The two-lobed pods contain spherical, dark brown seeds. Remove the seeds with gloved hands. Keep the slightly poisonous seeds dark, dry and safe for children until the sowing date.
Diseases and pests
Magnificent vetch growth arouses desire among pathogens and pests. In fact, the annual climbing plant is susceptible to infestation if location problems or care errors torpedo he althy growth. The following table describes common damage patterns to Lathyrus odoratus, lists typical causes and gives tips for combating them without poison:
| malicious image | Cause | Combat | Tip |
|---|---|---|---|
| White, wipeable leaf coating on top | Powdery mildew | Cut off the affected area, inject milk-water solution (1:8) | use fresh organic whole milk |
| Rolled up leaves, tiny pests underneath | Aphids | Rush the vetch, spray soap solution | use pure organic potassium soap |
| Dark spots on the leaves | Leaf spot disease | Cut off infected plant parts, remove fallen leaves | Burn clippings or throw them in the trash |
| Wilting, soft stems | Root rot due to waterlogging | transplant, repot, water more sparingly | clearing affected vetch in the vegetable garden |
| Pale leaves, few flowers | Nutrient Deficiency | Fertilize vetch liquidly weekly | mulching with compost soil |
Popular varieties
These beautiful sweet pea varieties transform the garden and balcony into a colorful sea of flowers:
- Cupani: historical original sweet pea from southern Italy with dark red, violet-winged flowers, climbs up to 3 m high.
- Salmon Cream: impresses with rare salmon-peach flower color and slender stems for vase cutting.
- Black Maroon: historic sweet pea, whose velvety black-violet flowers exude an intoxicating scent.
- Matchmaker Rose: two-tone premium variety with white flower wings and pink flower tail.
- Minuet Orange: heavenly dwarf vetch boasts salmon-red butterfly flowers in a pot and hanging basket.
- Villa Roma Scarlet: fire-red sweet pea in small format up to 40 cm tall for front garden, balcony and terrace.
FAQ
Is there also a winter-hardy vetch?
The popular annual sweet pea (Lathyrus odoratus) has numerous conspecifics that thrive as perennials and are hardy. This includes the perennial vetch, also known as broad-leaved vetch (Lathyrus latifolius), with climbing tendrils and a flowering period from June to September. The hardy spring vetch (Lathyrus vernus) stands out with its bushy, upright growth and spring-fresh flowers from April onwards. For natural garden design, we recommend the perennial meadow pea (Lathyrus pratensis), also known as meadow vetch, whose climbing shoots shine with bright yellow flowers every year.
Are sweet pea pods edible?
The downside of the wild, romantic sweet pea flowering period is the poisonous fruit. Each pollinated flower becomes a pod containing up to eight spherical seeds. These seeds contain various amino acids that are hard on the stomach of humans and animals. Intentional or unintentional consumption in large quantities causes nausea, stomach pain, vomiting and diarrhea. Hobby gardeners with family gardens cut off withered flowers in a timely manner and in this way prevent the formation of questionable legumes.
When can you sow vetch seeds?
You can sow vetch seeds in the greenhouse, heated winter garden or on the windowsill from November onwards. This has the advantage that the young plants start the next season with a promising growth lead. The time window for direct sowing in the bed or sowing in pots on the balcony opens in early/mid-April. Beforehand, let the seeds soak in water for one night.
Which vetch sowing is more successful – direct sowing or sowing under glass?
Experienced sweet pea experts advocate sowing under glass. Vetch seeds can also be sown directly into the bed. However, in this case, a high failure rate is to be expected. The large seeds are a popular snack for birds. Snails happily eat the juicy seedlings. Furthermore, extreme temperature fluctuations and days of dryness can significantly affect germination outside. You can avoid these adversities by sowing the seeds indoors in pots from November and maintaining them at room temperature in a bright location.
De-tip the vetch seedlings. How does it work?
To deadhead a vetch seedling, take the tip of the shoot above the next pair of leaves between your thumb and forefinger. Pinch off the herbaceous stem with your fingernails. Alternatively, cut off the shoot tip with sharp, disinfected herb or flower scissors.
