Wiltshire Ripple Sweet Pea delivers striped, ruffled petals on long stems, grown for its exceptional cut flowers and ornamental presence in the garden. This open-pollinated cultivar reaches maturity in 75 to 85 days and grows with a compact habit, making it well-suited to trellising and vertical gardens. Frost-tolerant and moderate in its water needs, it thrives in soil with a pH between 6.5 and 7.5, rewarding gardeners with continuous blooms when harvested regularly.
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Moderate
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Moderate
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The distinctive striped and ruffled petals are held on long, sturdy stems ideal for cutting, and the plant responds to harvest with even more prolific flowering. Sow seeds in darkness four to five weeks before your last frost, then pinch seedlings at six to eight inches tall to encourage dense, branching growth that fills your trellis with flowers. This variety tolerates light frosts, which means you can extend its growing season on both ends, stealing extra weeks of bloom.
Wiltshire Ripple shines as a cut flower, with its striped, ruffled petals lasting well in the vase when harvested with half the flowers on each stem already open. It's equally at home in cottage gardens, along arbors, fences, and trellises, where it can climb and create vertical interest. The compact growth habit and profuse flowering also make it suitable for back borders where color and texture are needed without excessive spreading.
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Sow seeds one-quarter to one-half inch deep into 72-cell flats or deep-cell seedling containers, keeping seeds in darkness to trigger germination. Maintain soil temperature between 50 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Start indoors four to five weeks before your planned outdoor planting date. Seedlings will tolerate a light frost and can be hardened off gradually before transplanting.
Transplant seedlings outdoors after the danger of hard frost has passed, spacing them four inches apart. The young plants tolerate light frosts, so you can plant earlier than you might expect. Ensure trellis support is in place at planting time.
Direct seed two to three seeds every six inches, sowing one-quarter to one-half inch deep in darkness. Thin seedlings as needed once the first true leaves appear, maintaining four-inch spacing between plants.
Harvest flowers when half the blooms on a stem are already open, cutting long stems for the vase. Regular harvesting stimulates the plant to produce even more flowers, so don't hesitate to pick frequently. The extended stems hold multiple ruffled, striped flowers, each cut extending the blooming period.
Pinch seedlings when they reach six to eight inches tall to encourage denser branching and more flowers throughout the season. Removing spent flowers increases continued bloom production.
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