My sweet peas still have no buds, is there any hope?

[Strokkur]

I have two big pots of sweet peas growing up cane wigwams, they are tall and luscious and healthy looking about 60cm tall but they don't have a single bud. I bought them as little plants from a very reliable small local nursery and put them in their pots straight away, though I can't remember when exactly. Is there any hope of flowers now?

Have you fed them? They like regular feeding, liquid tomato feed will do. Also, are they in the sun?

I haven't fed them, I actually thought for some reason that you weren't supposed to. But I suspect you might have the answe with the sun. We have a small west facing garden and they are in the sunniest bit, but I suspect they'd be happier elsewhere. I just really wanted them somewhere I can see them! And they look so very happy in every other way. Boo hop!

Tomorite or seaweed feed and lots of water. My sweet peas, roses and clematis are all really late this year. We had horrendous weather in spring, and lots of stuff has been affected.

This was mentioned on a podcast this week - I think it was the RHS one - sweet pea buds can drop of due to:

• lack of feeding
• aphids
• a virus

I think. Might need to go back and listen again to be sure.

Thanks all. It's not bud drop as there has never been even one bud on them (I've just spied one possible potential bud). I'll try tomorite and a different spot. I do love sweet peas so I was all excited when they initially seemed to be thriving.

I thought you were only meant to feed twice over the summer, to encourage the flowers rather than the pea pods? Read that somewhere anyway.

I feed mine about once a fortnight, and have had loads of flowers. The pods contain the seeds of the spent flowers and should be cut off immediately. This encourages more flowers. I also remove the spirals that they cling with, I understand that doing so makes the flower heads bigger.
However, my perennial sweet peas are just coming into flower now, they are about 4 weeks behind the annual ones.

Apparently, they like to be in really deep pots or the ground to stretch their legs (roots) - can you re-pot?

I grow them every year and never feed them apart from chucking a handful of chicken pellets into the soil before planting out. I get masses of flowers. The only time I've had a failure was when I put the pot in a shady spot, I always go for full sun now. I find that when I plant them out they don't do much for a few weeks, then you get vigorous luscious growth then after a couple more weeks they start to flower. I pick and deadhead diligently and they flower till the first frosts.

That has just reminded me about removing the tendrils. I had some in a pot once and that was recommended. I can't remember if it did any good. I guess feeding or not depends on the soil and the competition from other plants.

Feeding is always a bit hit and miss in my garden. When I was a younger gardener I had a Nelly Moser Clematis that refused to flower. I kept feeding it every year and it became huge. Then a wise old head told me "stop spoiling it, cut it back, leave it alone". Sadly dear reader it died. Probably all a coincidence.

No advise but mine are rubbish this year, tiny and no flowers. Despite going great guns in that spot last year!

Hmm. It's possible I'm just staring at them too much.

Tee hee, yes, may be they're shy!