You want to plant snapdragons but don't know what to look out for? No problem, because we will explain what is important.
The snapdragon (Antirrhinum) has enjoyed great popularity across the country for many decades. Especially since it is one of the really undemanding flowering perennials and easy to care for can be planted almost anywhere.
Our ancestors kept the native snapdragon in cottage gardens. One of the reasons for this was, of course, that snapdragons are perfect as cut flowers.
There are three types
In general, a distinction is made between the smaller dwarf snapdragons, conventional snapdragons and the large perennial snapdragons.
» Pygmy Snapdragon:
Pygmy snapdragons grow to a height of 15 to 20 centimeters and are ideal for edging beds.
» Conventional snapdragons:
Common snapdragons grow up to 50 centimeters in height and can therefore be counted among the low perennials.
» Perennial snapdragons:
The large perennial snapdragons also look very pretty and can grow up to 100 centimeters tall.
Planting snapdragons - How it's done
» Site selection
In principle, snapdragons get along very well with all soils. They only clearly prefer a sunny location to a moderately semi-shady spot. Furthermore, snapdragons are also suitable for the design of rock gardens and as cemetery plants.
You can also keep snapdragons as container plants without any problems. For example, they look particularly beautiful in a potted garden. Incidentally, the dwarf snapdragons are particularly suitable for balcony planting.
» Sowing
You can either grow snapdragons on the window sill from March or sow them outdoors from the end of April into May. The little plants usually cope well with nightly ground frosts.
Hint:
From April, snapdragons (smallperennial plants) that you can plant outdoors immediately.
When sowing and planting, you should always make sure that you place the individual seedlings with sufficient distance to the next plant to prevent the so-called snapdragon rust.
Caring for snapdragons properly
» Encourage new flowering:
Snapdragons bloom from July to October in many colors such as yellow, pink, white, orange, pink, red and violet - sometimes even multicolored. If you quickly pick off the flowers that have just faded, then new ones will form immediately.
» Irrigation:
During longer periods of drought, you must of course also water the plants, whereby you must absolutely avoid waterlogging. In principle, the rule of thumb is that snapdragons cope better with dry conditions than with moisture.
» Fertilize:
During growth, you should provide the snapdragon with organic fertilizer (e.g. compost) if necessary. Alternatively, you can of course apply a conventional complete fertilizer around the flowers. However, you should fertilize sparingly.
» Winter protection:
Snapdragons are not hardy! But their flower seeds can easily stay in the ground over the winter months and unfold again on their own next spring. However, this assumes that the flowers remain in the bed for as long as possible.
You can also let your snapdragons overwinter in a greenhouse, conservatory or cool room as houseplants.