Scabby, non flowering sweet peas

[Marb67]

Well, riddle me this one. Sweet peas planted in compost with some rotted manure in the bottom. Fed once a week with tomorite and yet scabby and pale leaves, and no flowers. Unbelievable!

[Jungle Jane]

Somebody sitting there likes those leaves 🧐☺️

[Nicos]

It looks like you’ve cut off the tops and folded the rest downwards?
Could you have cut off the flowering shoots?

What is the underside of the leaf like?…can’t really see clearly, but are those insect tracks on them?

[Marb67]

No it isn't snails as that is just one. I go out at night and check and there arn't any. Besides, they would have to be a lot more than that to cause that much damage. It's some kind of insect I think.

No, the tops are not folded down or cut off.

[Snoop Puss]

I have to confess I've never grown sweet peas myself, but my dad grew loads every year. It looks to me like you might have a few different problems there, Marb. But I don't think the compost is one of them.

If I saw leaves that pale on ordinary peas, I'd be thinking powdery mildew, especially at this time of year.

Your plants aren't that tall. Did you sow them late? Perhaps too late for them to satisfactorily flower?

And Nicos is right, you might not have folded them down, but they seem to have collapsed and bent, finished off by something that has eaten the ends of the stems.

It's a shame because sweet peas are lovely to have in a garden for the delicate colours and lovely scent. Try again next year?

[Marb67]

These are in the border and have been flowering great, cut flowers every day but again the foliage is shabby. I have never seen any snails (aside from the tiny one you pointed out) on any of the plants, especially at night when I collect them up around the garden.

[Peanut]

I think they have run out of steam Marb, that plus mildew, which mine always get about this time of year. I'd pull them up and compost them.

[bramble]

Mine are going the same way.
It wasn't the best year for mine, got lots of flowers but I think they have passed their best now.
I'm not deadheading them any longer, leaving them to collect seeds for next season.

[Nicos]

Mine are starting to look the same.
I’ll take the last flowers as they smell so wonderful, but I guess now is the time to allow them to produce free seeds for next year!