Kitchen Garden Forum

Noticed about a dozen bare flower stems today on my otherwise very healthy autumn sown plants. Seems that something has been at the buds but I can't find any evidence of insects - any ideas?

Bud Drop
This is one of the great scourges of sweet peas. It is most severe on cordon grown Spencer varieties, and can be caused by a wide range of factors. The most common are dull weather when the plants are growing vigorously, and erratic watering. The problem will often resolve itself with a change of weather conditions.
Bud drop can also be due to ethylene pollution. Ethylene is often a byproduct of combustion, and is present in bonfire smoke and car exhaust gasses. Sweet peas are among the most sensitive of plants to traces of ethylene.

From http://www.lathyrus.com/culture/path.htm

Bud drop

In periods of cold weather, the developing flower buds may turn yellow and fall off. Some varieties are more prone to this than others, but it is usually only a temporary problem that is cured by the return of warmer weather.

From http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/plants/p ... tpea.shtml

Could it also be birds?
Last year I watched starlings having a laugh nipping off my sweet peas flowers and just dropping them on the floor; any sign of the flower heads nearby on yours?