Growing Sweet Peas- Problems

Growing Sweet Peas Getting Started Growing On Germination Rates Cultivation Problems Slugs and snails Birds Damping off Root rot Wireworms Aphids Virus Bud Drop Mildew Containers	Home \| What's New \| Catalog \| Ordering \| Culture \| Seedracks \| Gallery \| Contact Us \| Links \| Contents
	Pests and Diseases and other problems Sweet peas: "...it's the most ticklish crop in the world. If the bugs don't get in it might do good. And then come a hot day and bust the pods and lose your crop on the ground. Or it might come up a little rain and spoil the whole kaboodle". (from "The Harness" by John Steinbeck.) Many seed packets claim that sweet peas are "easy to grow". In my mind "easy to grow" means put it in the ground and watch what happens. With sweet peas, you have to prepare the soil, make a structure, tie the plants throughout the growing season and protect from pests and diseases. Although these are pleasant and rewarding chores, they are not necessarily "easy". Some of the information presented here is 'from the books'. Other is from personal experience. Go to the Links Page to hook up to Gardens-Alive and UC Davis.
	Chart of Problems
	Problem	Description	Control		Photo
	Problem	Description	Organic	Other	Photo
	Slugs and snails	Slugs and snails are especially harmful to young plants. Even before you are aware of their presence, the baby slugs can chew off the growing tip of young seedlings, thereby killing the plant. Once the plant has become established, slugs may chew on the leaves.	Various home remedies; Escar-go	Slug bait
	Birds	Cute, little feathered babies might eat the growing tip of seedlings. This may kill the plants.	Bird netting Remay
	Damping off	This causes young seedlings to die. It is caused by a fungus in the soil.	Use sterile potting mix to start seedlings
	Root rot	Various root rots and seed rots cause plants to wither and die. See UC Davis's Website for more info on these problems.	See Gardens-Alive Website
	Wireworms & other grubs	Attack the roots and may cause collapse of the plants.	See Gardens Alive Website
	Aphids	The scourge of sweet peas! They spread disease, notably virus, and must be controlled. Please take note that insecticidal soap will desiccate foliage.	Lacewings, Ladybugs, See Gardens-Alive	Rotenone, Malathion
	Virus	My nemesis! Virus can ruin plants and flowers. There is mottling and yellowing of the foliage. Flowers have broken colors. It is spread by aphids. I think it can also be spread by contaminated hands, garden tools and direct contact.	Use good clean technique. Control Aphids. Destroy infected plants. We have a link to the RHS in the UK that talks about vorus in England	None	Virus on foliage Click on Photo
	Virus			None	Healthy foliage Click on photo
	Bud Drop	This seems to happen early in the season when weather is unstable. Flower buds drop off. Although annoying, plants seem to outgrow it.	None	None
	Mildew	White powdery growth on leaves and stems. Heavily infected plants may have their growth diminished. I have no personal experience with this problem.	Increase air circulation around plants. See UC Davis Website for controls. Make sure to read labels.