How to grow Snapdragon

Antirrhinum majus · Antirrhinum

A cool-season flower grown as an annual (in mild climates it is a short-lived perennial), with spikes of two-lipped "dragon's mouth" flowers in many colours from early summer to autumn. It flowers best in cool weather and stalls in summer heat; bees pollinate it.

Quick facts

Type	Flower
Family	Plantaginaceae
Light	Full sun
Frost	tolerates light frost
Soil for sowing	from 18 °C
Germination	10 days
Seedlings ready	55 days
Where it grows	Greenhouse, Open ground, At home

When to plant

Sow for seedlings about 9 weeks before planting out.

It tolerates light frost: plant out in open ground about three weeks before your last spring frost.

In an unheated greenhouse everything moves about three weeks earlier.

Frost dates · When to plant

Care

Greenhouse

Stage	Watering	Temperature	Feeding
Seedlings	every 2 days	—	—
Growth	every 7 days	—	balanced (NPK), at the start of the stage
Flowering	every 7 days	10…21 °C	balanced (NPK), 24 days into the stage; balanced (NPK), 73 days into the stage

Open ground

Stage	Watering	Temperature	Feeding
Seedlings	every 2 days	—	—
Growth	every 7 days	—	balanced (NPK), at the start of the stage
Flowering	every 7 days	10…21 °C	balanced (NPK), 24 days into the stage; balanced (NPK), 73 days into the stage

At home

Stage	Watering	Temperature	Feeding
Seedlings	every 2 days	—	—
Growth	every 2 days	—	balanced (NPK), at the start of the stage
Flowering	every 2 days	10…21 °C	balanced (NPK), 24 days into the stage; balanced (NPK), 73 days into the stage

Growing notes

Light

Full sun is best; it tolerates part shade but flowers less there.

Soil

Moist, rich, well-drained soil; a neutral pH is preferred.

Care

Sow 8–10 weeks before planting out, on the surface — the seed needs light — at 21–24 °C, and move the seedlings to their own cells when the first true leaves appear. Hardened-off plants take light frost and can go out 2–3 weeks before the last frost date, 10–30 cm apart. Pinch the tips if you want bushier plants. Keep the soil evenly moist, watering at the base, as it has little drought tolerance. Feed at planting, again 6–8 weeks later and once more in late summer. Deadhead spent spikes and stake tall varieties. Rust is its main disease; downy mildew, leaf spots and root rots also occur.

Pests and diseases of Snapdragon

Sources

Figures checked against these sources.