Snapdragons have been cultivated in our gardens for hundreds of years. With its diverse flower colors and flowers reminiscent of a snapdragon in shape, the robust plant fits perfectly into natural farm gardens, but also looks particularly good in bowls and balcony boxes. Properly cared for, the snapdragon blooms from June until well into autumn.
How do I care for snapdragons properly?
Snapdragons require moderate watering with lime-free water, the addition of compost and horn shavings in the spring, regular removal of dead flowers and winter protection from leaves and brushwood. Monitoring and controlling pests and diseases such as aphids and mildew are also important.
How to water?
When it comes to water, the following applies to snapdragons: less is more. Water only when the top few inches of soil feel dry. Waterlogging must be avoided at all costs, as the plant reacts extremely sensitively to it. Snapdragons also don’t like lime. Therefore, water with stale water or, even better, with rainwater.
How to fertilize?
In spring, mix mature compost and horn shavings into the substrate. The snapdragon is undemanding and does not require any additional fertilizers. Potted plants whose limited amount of substrate cannot store as many nutrients are supplied with a commercially available liquid fertilizer (€18.00 on Amazon) every two weeks.
How to cut?
In order to stimulate the bushy growth of the snapdragons, the shoot tips of the young plants are shortened by a few centimeters. If you do not want to harvest seeds for the next year, the dead flowers are cut off immediately so that the perennial quickly produces new flowers.
How do snapdragons overwinter?
Depending on whether it is a hybrid or a “real” snapdragon, the plant is cut back and dug up in the fall or is allowed to overwinter with the leaves. The plant is relatively hardy, normal winter protection consisting of leaves and brushwood is sufficient.
Pests and diseases
Occasionally the snapdragon is attacked by aphids, fungus gnats and other harmful insects. These can be easily treated with home remedies or commercially available insecticides.
In certain weather conditions there is a risk of powdery mildew or downy mildew. Remove affected parts of the plant immediately so that the fungus cannot spread. Both types of mildew can be easily controlled with fungicides.
If the plant is exposed to waterlogging, there is a risk of root rot. The flowers stop blooming, the leaves fade and the plant subsequently dies. Moderate watering is the best prevention here. The plant is relatively hardy, normal winter protection consisting of leaves and brushwood is sufficient.
Tip
If you leave a few seed heads on the snapdragon, the plant will often self-seed and go wild.