High Scent Sweet Pea Seeds

High Scent sweet pea is a highly scented sweet pea variety with beauty to match its fragrance. Creamy white ruffled petals with purple/pink edges are soft and dreamy. Sweet peas make great cut flowers—plant in the fall in mild climates to establish over winter. In colder zones, sweet peas should be started inside and transplanted out after the danger of frost has passed.

Planting by Zones

Zones 9-10

• Plant in fall to overwinter and bloom in spring.

Zones 3-8

• Start indoors 7-8 weeks before the last frost. Transplant out after the danger of frost is gone.

Planting Sweet Pea Seeds

• Seeds need to be thoroughly soaked to ensure good germination. Scarifying (scratching) the seed coat to allow water in can help the seed take on the water quicker and germinate quicker.
• Plant seeds ½” deep in good, well worked, deeply watered soil if you are direct sowing. If you are transplanting, start your seeds in a seed starting mix and transplant them out when they are 3-4″ tall.

Growing Sweet Peas

• Sweet Peas enjoy cool weather, and in Zones 9 and 10, they should be planted in the fall and left to overwinter. They will bloom in the spring. In other zones, sweet peas can be started indoors from seed 6-7 weeks before the last frost. Once the danger of frost has passed, you can plant the transplants outside in the full sun.
• Sweet peas like to have a trellis or structure to grow up. 

Growing Sweet Peas in Containers

• If you are planting sweet peas in containers, make sure your container is at least 10″ deep. Keep in mind containers will dry out faster because they have more surface area and less soil to hold onto moisture.

Harvesting Sweet Pea Flowers

• Sweet Peas are grown for their heavily scented blooms. The more blooms you harvest, the more blooms the plant will produce. Pick blooms in the early morning and placing them directly in a water-filled vase to ensure the longest-lasting flowers.

Southern California Pro-tips

• Fall in Zones 9 and 10 can be brutally hot. When seed starting, protect plants from the heat with shade cloth and water deeply.
• Mulch heavily to ensure the soil stays cool and well-watered.
• DO NOT overhead water as this promotes disease.

Succession Planting Tips

• Plant more seeds every 15 days to guarantee a prolonged blooming period.

Companion Flowers/ Crops

• Sweet Pea flowers and pods are not edible but can be grown as a lovely addition to fall and winter crops. Plant them in with your cabbage, lettuces, and other fall/winter greens. They also look beautiful behind shorter plants like our alyssum, borage, and yarrow. Shop all our flower varieties here.
• Do you LOVE sweet peas? Try all our varieties including: Finn River Sweet Pea, Heirloom Sweet Pea Mix, High Scent Sweet Pea, Knee High Sweet Pea Mix, Point Loma Sweet Pea, Royal Family Sweet Pea Mix, and SoCal Soiree Sweet Pea.

Additional Learning Resources

• New to starting crops from seeds? Please watch our Seed Starting Presentation to learn the basics!
• Learn about growing all our crops on our YouTube page!
• Having pest issues? Check out in-depth information for pests that can be an issue to sweet peas at the UC Integrated Pest Management site.