Snapdragons are Mediterranean natives whose cultivation spread throughout Europe during the Roman Empire. They made it to the New World sometime in the 18th century where they have been popular ever since.
The first report of snapdragons in New World garden literature is in Thomas Jefferson’s Garden Book. In 1767 he found specimens blooming in his childhood home at Shadwell, Virginia four years later he listed snapdragons to be part of his Monticello gardens.
In Colonial America snapdragons were common in cottage-style gardens where floriferous spikes added vertical interest along with hollyhocks, larkspur, and foxgloves and other flower towers.
One particular cottage-style garden was the dooryard garden. The dooryard garden was framed by a white picket fence with orderly beds of flowers including snapdragons bordering the path leading to the front door.
Growing Snapdragons
Snapdragons adapt to almost any style of garden bringing every color but blue. They flower best in full sun but can tolerate light shade. They like humus rich well-drained slightly acidic to slightly alkaline soil.
Pinching back promotes branching and fullness. Routine deadheading gives snaps an extended bloom time. Some gardeners allow a few flowers spikes to ripen in order to save the seed or let plants self-seed.
Snapdragons are propagated from seed. The tiny seed are placed atop the soil without cover and pressed down lightly. Seeds need light to germinate. Germination time is 10-20 days.
Classification of Snapdragons
Snapdragons, members of the figwort family, are classified by flower form or height. Three flower forms include:
- ‘Black Prince’ exemplifies old-fashioned snapping snaps with fused petals
- ‘Twinny Peach’ a snapless butterfly style with open form similar to an azalea blossom
- ‘Luminaire’ a trailing form.
There are three height classifications for snapdragons: dwarf, intermediate, and tall.
The dwarf varieties like ‘Bronze Dragon’ and ‘Oriental Lanterns’ are 6”-8” in height.
Intermediate varieties like ‘Night and Day’ and ‘Liberty’ stand 18”-24” tall. ‘Rocket’ and ‘Chantilly’ soar 36”-48” into the garden air.
Pollinators Visit Snapdragons
Recruit snapdragons for a pollinator garden. Bumblebees are the primary pollinators of snapdragons.
The flower’s lower lip is the bee’s landing platform. Bumblebees have the strength to open the lips and squirm inside the blossom where they are rewarded for their effort.
Butterflies and hummingbirds visit snaps too. Antirrhinum spp. are a host plant for the buckeye butterfly.
Zoning in on Snapdragons
The itinerant gardener is likely to see snapdragons growing across parts of the United States all year long. Snapdragons flower best in cool-seasons.
In the United States snapdragons bloom in the spring and summer gardens of zones 6 and under.
In USDA hardiness zones 7-9 gardeners plant snapdragons in fall to enjoy throughout the milder winters. When warm spring temperatures come to the south, the plants are pulled up to save these cool-season annuals from the misery of pests and diseases in hot and humid summers.
Rust, botrytis, downy mildew, powdery mildew, and verticillium wilt are common fungal diseases for snapdragons. Good air circulation between plants and correct watering procedures reduce the risk of fungus. Rust resistant varieties have been developed.
Root, stem, and crown rot become problems in poorly drained soil. Aphids, thrips, and spider mites can be problems in warmer weather.
Despite the aforementioned pests and diseases, snapdragons have fewer troubles than many bedding plants.
Landscape Uses of Snapdragons
The height and form of the snap determines its place in the landscape. Dwarf varieties are sited to edge borders or in containers and window boxes.
Intermediate varieties are border fillers and cut flowers. Most tall varieties become back of the border or fence line plants and eventually cut flowers. Tall snapdragons are vibrant vertical vase flowers.
Trailing snapdragons cascade from hanging baskets and window boxes.
Snapdragons and Children
Snapdragons have entertained generations of children. They delight in snapping the fused lips open and closed while conducting conversations with these floral puppets. They cut the long lateral spikes to be candelabra at the playhouse dinner table. Youngsters wear the blossoms as whimsical clip earrings.
In her book Sunflower Houses Sharon Lovejoy refers to snapdragons as “personality” face flowers to include in a children’s garden. She suggests the blossoms be used to hide secret messages or to clip placecards at a child’s birthday party.
Since snapdragons are perfect flowers with both male and female reproductive parts, they are useful for teaching children flower parts.
Snapdragons have traveled across the globe and into gardens for centuries. They seem a constant garden companion to tell us of the past, gladden us in the present, and join us in the future.
Sources
- Armitage, Allan M. Armitage’s Manual of Annuals, Biennials, and Half-Hardy Perennials. Portland: Timber Press, 2001.
- Damrosch, Barbara. Theme Gardens. New York: Workman Publishing, 1982.
- Gardner, Jo Ann. “The Dooryard Garden.” Old-House Journal, July/August 1999.
- Jefferson, Thomas. Garden Book. Thomas Jefferson Papers An Electronic Archive
- Loewer, Peter. Jefferson’s Garden. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2005.
- Lovejoy Sharon. Sunflower Houses: Garden Discoveries for Children of All Ages. Loveland, CO: Interweave Press, 1991.
Arlene Marturano - Arlene Marturano, an educator, consultant, master gardener, and writer advocates gardens as a context and gardening as a tool for ...
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