Planting and caring for snapdragons
Beautiful and robust eye-catchers for the garden
Snapdragons are one of my absolute favourite flowers. I appreciate their diverse colour spectrum, their unusual exotic shape and their tolerance of cold. You can plant them outside in the garden before the last frost has passed. However, I recommend two tools to anyone who wants to grow snapdragons from seed: a seed chute, because the seeds are very fine, and a climbing net, because the stems are so beautifully long.
The most important facts in brief
- cool Flowers (cold germinator)
- annual cut flower
- sunny or semi-shady location, sandy or clayey soil
- sow frost-free indoors from February, outdoors in the garden from April
- direct sowing in autumn or early spring
- extension of the flowering period through subsequent sowing
- light germinator
- regular pruning stimulates the formation of buds
- suitable for beds, tubs and pots
- insect pasture
Sowing snapdragons
Snapdragons are cool flowers. You can therefore start growing the seeds indoors or in a greenhouse as early as February. They can then go outside as early as April. Direct sowing in autumn or early spring is also possible.
As snapdragons are light germinators, make sure not to cover them with soil when sowing. To aid germination, you can put the seeds in the fridge overnight and then put them in the pots. A seed chute helps when sowing the very fine seeds. They should then be placed in a bright location to ensure they grow well.
The time from sowing to flowering is around 110-120 days.
Location & soil
Snapdragons prefer a sunny, wind-protected location. You can also plant them in semi-shady spots in the garden, but this may reduce the abundance of flowers. Make sure that the soil is loose and nutrient-rich, ideally sandy-loamy. Waterlogging and full heat in the midday hours should be avoided.
Caring for snapdragons
Snapdragons are among the very robust varieties. They require virtually no care after planting. Keep them evenly moist and give them a high-quality liquid fertiliser, preferably every 14 days. You can remove wilted leaves regularly to stimulate bud formation. For taller varieties, you are welcome to use a support such as a climbing net.
Snapdragons are equally suitable for flower beds, containers and pots.
Cutting snapdragons for the vase
You should harvest the wonderful snapdragons when only the lower 2-3 flowers are open. They will then keep in the vase for 7 to 10 days.
