When to plant sweet peas
Sow sweet peas outdoors 4 to 6 weeks before the last frost.
Your dates for sweet peas
Set your ZIP code at the top of the page and we will work out when to plant sweet peas where you live, from the frost records of the nearest NOAA weather station. Your ZIP code is remembered on this device only.
Sweet Peas planting dates by zone
| Zone | Sow outdoors |
|---|---|
| Zone 2a | Jun 3 to 17 |
| Zone 3a | May 28 to Jun 11 |
| Zone 3b | May 24 to Jun 7 |
| Zone 4a | May 19 to Jun 2 |
| Zone 4b | May 14 to 28 |
| Zone 5a | May 11 to 25 |
| Zone 5b | May 10 to 24 |
| Zone 6a | May 4 to 18 |
| Zone 6b | Apr 26 to May 10 |
| Zone 7a | Apr 19 to May 3 |
| Zone 7b | Apr 9 to 23 |
| Zone 8a | Mar 25 to Apr 8 |
| Zone 8b | Mar 11 to 25 |
| Zone 9a | Feb 20 to Mar 6 |
| Zone 9b | Dec 20 to Jan 3 |
Spring dates before the last frost assume the soil has thawed and is dry enough to work. After a late or wet spring, wait for that even if the date has passed.
Where frost is rare
Where winters are mild and summers hot, sow sweet peas in fall (October-November) so they build roots over winter and bloom in early spring, roughly March into late April or May, before heat ends the season. Seeds and seedlings fail in both extreme heat and hard freezes. In San Antonio, Texas A&M reports sometimes having to resow from November through February to get a stand. For winter and very early bloom in mild areas, choose early-flowering (winter or 'Elegance'-type) varieties, which bloom with about 10 hours of daylight, while spring and summer types need 12-15 hours.
| Zone | Planting months in Extension guides |
|---|---|
| Zone 9 | Oct-Nov (sow seed; LSU AgCenter for the Gulf South, UF/IFAS Nassau County north Florida in November, Texas A&M Bexar County Nov-Feb with possible resowing) |
| Zone 10 | Oct-Jan (sow seed; University of Arizona low-desert chart lists early Oct to early Feb) |
Based on LSU AgCenter (Poppies and Sweet Peas); UF/IFAS Extension Nassau County November checklist; Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Bexar County (Cool Weather Color for Your Landscape); University of Arizona AZ1100 Flower Planting Guide for the Low Desert; UC ANR Riverside County Master Gardeners fact sheet (inland valleys and desert: early fall to earliest winter); UC Napa Master Gardeners (sow in late fall, e.g. October, in mild Napa winters). No UF/IFAS statewide or University of Hawaii CTAHR sweet pea guide was found. Warm-winter areas are matched to zones approximately, so use the months for your region.
How to grow sweet peasYour full planting calendar
Sources
- Sweet Peas - A Flower Garden Favorite (Garden Mastery Tips) · Washington State University Clark County Extension
- Sweet Pea · University of Illinois Extension
- Sweet peas (high tunnel cut flower crop) · Cornell University (Cornell High Tunnels)
- Lathyrus odoratus (Annual Sweet Pea) · NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
- Sweet Pea Growing Information (fact sheet) · UC ANR, Riverside County Master Gardeners
- Sweet Peas. · UC ANR, UC Master Gardeners of Napa County
- Success with Sweet Peas (reprinted from Fine Gardening) · Ohio State University Extension, Knox County
- Poppies and Sweet Peas · LSU AgCenter
- November Checklist · UF/IFAS Extension Nassau County
- Cool Weather Color for Your Landscape · Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Bexar County
- Flower Planting Guide for the Low Desert (AZ1100) · University of Arizona Cooperative Extension, Maricopa County
- Flowering Annuals for Georgia Gardens (Bulletin 954) · University of Georgia Cooperative Extension
- Annuals (HO-80-W) · Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service
- Sowing Annual Seeds · Penn State Extension