Sugar snap peas are a highly favored edible-pod pea known for their sweet, crisp texture. The most popular varieties are vigorous climbers that require external assistance to grow successfully. Providing a vertical structure is necessary for a healthy harvest, as unsupported plants will not reach their full potential.
Understanding the Vining Habit
The climbing ability of the sugar snap pea vine relies on specialized, thin, coiled structures called tendrils. These tendrils are modified leaves that emerge from the stem to anchor the plant to nearby objects. Once a support is found, the tendril wraps tightly around it, providing stability for upward growth.
Vining sugar snap pea varieties typically grow quite tall, often reaching heights between five and eight feet. Allowing the vines to sprawl on the ground is detrimental to the plant’s health. Unsupported vines form a dense, moist tangle that restricts air circulation. This environment increases the likelihood of fungal diseases, such as powdery mildew, and makes the developing pea pods susceptible to rot and pests near the soil surface.
Keeping the vines vertical maximizes yield and maintains pod cleanliness. A supported plant utilizes its energy to produce more pods rather than struggling for light and air. An elevated harvest ensures the pods remain clean and easily accessible for picking. The plant’s growth can become stunted if the tendrils cannot find a structure to grasp, halting upward development until the vine feels secure.
Essential Support Structures
Providing a vertical framework is necessary, and the support structure should be installed when planting the seeds. Waiting until the young vines begin to flop makes installation difficult and risks damaging the delicate root systems. For most vining varieties, the support should stand at least six feet tall to accommodate the plants’ full mature height.
Support options include nylon pea netting stretched between two posts or a sturdy wire mesh, such as a cattle panel. Netting is often the least expensive choice, but the mesh openings should be large enough to allow for easy access when harvesting the pods. Simple structures like bamboo teepees or vertical wooden frames can also be used, provided they are strong enough to bear the weight of a fully grown crop.
Pea tendrils wrap around thin objects, generally less than a quarter inch in diameter. This makes materials like string, twine, or thin wire mesh ideal for them to grasp. If using a thicker support, such as a wooden frame, weave thin garden twine horizontally across the structure to create smaller climbing rungs for the young tendrils. For ease of harvesting, a flat trellis or A-frame design that allows access to both sides of the planting row is preferred.
Vining Versus Bush Varieties
While the most common sugar snap peas exhibit a vining habit, plant breeders have developed bush, or dwarf, varieties. These types are more compact, such as ‘Sugar Ann’ or ‘Sugar Daddy,’ typically growing to a height of only two to three feet.
Bush varieties require minimal support, if any, often benefitting from a short fence or a simple ring of stakes to keep the vines from falling over. Their compact size makes them well-suited for container gardening or small-space gardens where a tall trellis is impractical. However, these shorter varieties often produce their crop all at once over a shorter window, unlike vining types that yield pods over a longer season.
The difference in growth habit is a primary factor a gardener must consider before planting. Gardeners should check the specific growth habit and expected mature height listed on the seed packet or plant tag. Selecting the right variety and providing the appropriate support structure ensures a successful and abundant harvest of sweet, crunchy sugar snap peas.