Thanks, everyone... this was a new experiment, so I guess I will just have to hope that they grow a bit more! I am actually in SW PA near Pittsburgh, and we have fairly hard winters (fairly cold, but not a ton of snow). We are just off a river, too, so the cold winds do a number on my outlying garden! I haven't had too much luck with fall sowing, though some sunflowers came up this spring. I can certainly *try* it, though! Part of the problem here was a really late snow and ice patch right around Easter- a lot of stuff froze off and is doing poorly. I planted these well after that, but they just don't seem to be doing well. They look healthy enough, green and such, but just aren't growing. I had hoped to train them over a larger trellis, but at this rate they may not even get past the one footer I have them on now. The weather has been pretty sunny and warm (70s and 80s), and I have watered just about daily when we have a stretch without rain. They get full sun for most of the day... Thanks for the advice, I will keep an eye on them!

It depends on your weather. They start to show some rewarding growth and begin to climb when your soil warms up. Sweet peas here, direct sown in March and April are only about 2" taller than your own.

I have a beautiful white one, still smallish, that I grew from a start off my Mother's plant. VERY drought tollerant. I planted mine in full sun next to a barbed wire fence. I watered it just enough to get it started and pretty much have neglected it ever since. I worried the neighbor's cattle would eat it, but they never did. Not even the wild rabbits touch it. Very hardy. Even after all the cold weather we have had, it is still green. They do well in any soil, but prefer poor soil. You have to help them get started climbing until they get a hold of their support. I have never known them to become invasive. The prettiest clump I ever saw was growing up the guide wire of a telephone pole, with delicate lilac, pink and white flowers. There were yards and yards of Larkspurs of all colors growing around it. Mother has hers growing on a white fan trellis with daylilies, roses and shasta daisies around it I think. If you want the lovely sweet pea fragrance, maybe try planting some annual types by it. ~Annie

More questions: mnwsgal - I'm curious about where you planted that winter-sown seed in your veggie garden last year, what kind of sun was it getting? Full sun? East (morning sun only), south (full), west (afternoon/evening sun)? It intrigues me that dirtbert's friend got his/hers to grow in shade (and got lots of blooms?) That's why I'm curious what kind of sun mnwsgal's got last year. I might try both winter sowing and starting them in a few large containers as well and put them out during the day and bring them into the garage at night. August blooms? Wow, has anyone had theirs bloom earlier than that? If that's the case, since they hate weather over 85 degrees, I'm surprised any made it that long to bloom. mnsgal - looks like you did the right thing by nicking them and having them in the paper towel. I tried seeds in early May - I nicked them, soaked them for a couple hours in warm water and put them in the ground. Nothing came up. I realize now I should have left them to soak for about 24 hours. I got pre-grown plants from Bachman's in Eden Prairie - that was the only place that was selling them. They almost didn't make it. I figured out the reason why was because the root system wasn't strongly established. Now it is and they are about 3 feet high. I could swear I'm seeing some buds - they aren't like the buds I was seeing for leaves which aren't tight and point straight up, these are tight and actually pointing almost down! Please keep me posted mnwsgal and dirtbert on how you (and your friend) are doing with growing them - I look forward to hearing what's working for you, even the nurseries can't really tell me and it does seem this plant is more finicky than most in how it must be done. Since I'm a beginner, I'm not used to winter or container growing yet, so I want to try to get a success first before trying the harder stuff. I'm just used to planting petunias and other annuals, clematis, and daylilies! So this is quite a stretch for me. Wherever possible, I want to avoid containers, however, with winter sowing of sweet pea seeds, how tall will the plant be in June and when do the flowers typically start blooming?