Snapdragon - An Annual Flower For Your Garden © 2006

Snapdragon

Antirrhinum majus
Family - Scrophulariaceae

Toads Mouth

The snapdragon family has about forty species of hardy herbaceous annuals or perennials in it. The snapdragon is grown as a cool weather annual flower which will survive light frosts. South of USDA Zone 7 it may be grown as a perennial. It has a full range of flowers. It is native to the Mediteranean region. Cultivated by seed, it needs full sun. Best flowering is spring and fall. The plants will sometimes fade away in the summer heat, returning to vigor in the cooler fall temperatures. The plants will sometimes re-seed, but the resulting plants will be unlike the parents.

The snapdragon is available in many cultivars which grow to a variety of heights fulfilling many garden needs. The shorter varieties grow around six inches tall, the taller ones up to 32 inches Flowers are usually about one and a half inches long, regardless of the cultivar. Newer hybrids may be more heat tolerant than old fashioned varieties, but the snapdragon still prefers the cooler temperatures.

Snapdragon seed is pretty small. The seed should be planted at least eight weeks before setting out. The plants can be set in the garden before the last frost if they have been hardened off to the cold first. Smaller varieties should be set six to eight inches apart, larger one a foot apart. If plants are planted specifically for fall bloom, they should be ready to plant by late August. At that point almost three months of bloom can be expected in areas like ours here in Indiana.

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