Annual flowers add instant color and impact to landscape beds, containers, and window boxes.
While we love mixing it up with old standbys such as nasturtiums, petunias and marigolds, another flower that will add long-lasting color and interest to gardens is the snapdragon.
In warm climates, they are considered a short-lived perennial or biennial, lasting for about two seasons.
Snapdragons are great in a pollinator garden. Butterflies and hummingbirds love them, and they’re also deer resistant, which is a plus. These flowers are available in every color you can imagine.
Pink snapdragons are especially appealing. They offer an ethereal cottage-garden look, but you’ll also find them in cheery shades of white, yellow, orange, and yellow.
One of the qualities that make snapdragons so appealing is their unique flower shape, which resembles the hinged jaws of a dragon. In fact, their botanical name comes from the words for “snout” in Greek. The spikes of the flowers bloom from the bottom up, which provides color for an extended period of time.
Classified by height and flower form, snapdragons come in dwarf (6 to 15 inches), mid-sized (15 to 30 inches), and tall (30 to 48 inches) sizes. The flowers may be dragon-jaw types or more similar to a butterfly in form. There are also trailing varieties that look amazing draping out of planters.
Snapdragons can withstand an early (or late) frost, so they’re ideal for spring and fall plantings. They look their best when temperatures are in the 60s and 70s.
Read on to learn everything you need to know about how to grow snapdragon flowers:
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Snapdragon Flower Basic Info
- Common Name: Snapdragon
- Botanical Name: Antirrhinum majus
- Plant Family: Plantaginaceae
- Type of Plant: Annual; short-lived perennial in zones 9 or warmer
- Native Origin: Southwestern Europe
- Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
- Mature Size: 6 to 48 inches tall and 6 inches to 3 feet wide
- Toxic to pets: No
Where to Plant Snapdragons
Snapdragons like full sun, which means six or more hours of direct sunlight per day. They’ll tolerate a little afternoon shade, especially in hot climates, but they don’t bloom as well.
As cool-weather annuals, they’re not fans of hot, dry conditions, so they often stop blooming in the heat and get a little rough-looking in late summer.
If they get scruffy, trim them back to rejuvenate them. They may push out new growth in the cooler temperatures of fall. You also can give them a balanced fertilizer to encourage more blooms.
Plant snapdragons anywhere you want a pop of fresh color, such as in landscape beds, raised beds, containers, and window boxes. They will grow in any kind of potting mix.
They look especially good in mixed containers with other annuals, such as pansies, and they also make good cutting garden flowers. Just make sure any container has a hole in the bottom to drain out excess water.
When to Plant Snapdragons
Because they tolerate cool weather, they’re one of the first annuals you can plant in early spring. You can plant them about six weeks before the last expected frost date in your area. (Check with your local university coop extension service to get an estimate of when that date is.)
You also can plant them in the fall. They prefer nighttime temperatures in the 40s with daytime temperatures in the 70s and low 80s, which is why they’re great for autumn when many other annuals and perennials have started to fade.
How to Grow and Care for Snapdragons
Deadhead, or remove, old flowers after bloom to encourage reblooming. Tall varieties may need to be staked. You can pinch them back a bit after their first flush of flowers to encourage branching and a tighter form.
Water them regularly, but don’t keep them sopping wet. Avoid watering at night, which promotes the formation of disease, and be sure to water them at their base, not at the top of the foliage.
Snapdragon Pests and Problems
Snapdragons are fairly tough, but they can get foliar diseases such as rust or powdery mildew. To prevent these issues, follow the above watering tips. Also, plant them far enough apart to allow air to flow around them.
How to Propagate Snapdragons
You can start snapdragon seeds indoors about 8 to 10 weeks before the first expected frost. Plant them in any potting mix, keep the soil slightly moist, and place in an area with bright light, preferably under a grow light.
You also can grow them from cuttings. Count up two sets of leaves from the bottom of the plant, snip off a section that’s a few inches long. Dip into rooting powder, then place the cutting in potting mix. Keep the planting medium lightly moist and in a bright spot, or under a grow light. (Here are some grow lights we recommend) The cuttings should root in a matter of a few weeks.
Before transplanting outdoors, acclimate them gradually to full sun and cool temperatures. This process is called “hardening off,” and slowly exposes the baby plants to their outdoor environment over the course of about a week.
