A Complete Guide to the Latest Snapdragon Growing Methods
Snapdragons can be grown in pots. Because of their brilliant flower colors, they are very suitable for ornamental display. They originated in the Mediterranean region, with a distribution ranging north to Morocco and Portugal, south to France, and east to Turkey and Syria. They are named for their flowers, which resemble goldfish, and they are also a traditional Chinese medicine, with effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, cooling the blood and reducing swelling. They can also be pressed for oil for consumption and are nutritious and healthy. Now let us take a look at the snapdragon growing methods!
Snapdragon Growth Habits
Snapdragons like sunlight and can also tolerate partial shade. They are relatively cold-tolerant but not tolerant of intense heat. They are suited to loose, fertile, well-drained soil, and can also grow normally in calcareous soil. The plant height is 20-70 cm, and the leaves are oblong-lanceolate. The inflorescence is a raceme, and the corolla is tubular and bilabiate, with the base swollen into a sac shape, the upper lip upright and 2-lobed, and the lower lip 3-lobed, spreading and curved outward. There are colors such as white, pale red, deep red, flesh color, deep yellow, light yellow, and yellow-orange.
Snapdragon Propagation Methods
Snapdragons are mainly propagated by sowing, and can be sown in either spring or autumn. In the Yangtze River basin, autumn sowing is mostly used, and in northern regions pot sowing is also mostly done in autumn. Autumn-sown seedlings grow more robustly and bloom more abundantly than spring-sown seedlings. After autumn sowing, seedlings emerge in 7-10 days. Soaking the seeds in a 50-400 mg/L gibberellin solution can increase the seed germination rate. Spring sowing should be carried out in March to April, and cutting propagation can also be used.
Snapdragon Growing Methods
1. Soil: Snapdragons do not have very high requirements for soil, but they grow best in fertile, loose, slightly acidic sandy loam with good drainage.
2. Watering: Snapdragons are very sensitive to moisture. The potting soil must remain moist, and when growing seedlings in pots they must be watered thoroughly, but the potting soil must have good drainage and must not become waterlogged, otherwise it can easily cause root rot as well as yellowing and wilting of stems and leaves.
3. Sunlight: Snapdragons are light-loving herbaceous plants and need to grow under conditions of sufficient sunlight. The plants are dwarf and compact in clumps, grow neatly, remain uniform in height, and have neat flowering and vivid flower colors. If grown under semi-shaded conditions, the plants will grow taller, the inflorescences will elongate, and the flower colors will be dull.
4. Temperature: Snapdragons are relatively cold-tolerant but not heat-tolerant. The most suitable temperature for growth is 7-10 degrees, and high temperatures are unfavorable for growth and development. The most suitable temperature for flowering is around 15-16 degrees. For some varieties, if the temperature exceeds 15 degrees, they will not branch and the plant form will be affected.
5. Fertilizing: Strengthening the management of fertilizer and water is necessary. When fertilizing, pay more attention to the combination of phosphorus, potassium, and so on, because it itself has rhizobia and therefore has the function of nitrogen fixation, so under normal circumstances there is no need to apply nitrogen fertilizer. During the growing period, combine watering with applying fermented oil residue water once every half month, and before fertilizing, loosen the soil and remove weeds appropriately.
6. Pruning: For snapdragons, only after each flowering ends should the branches that have already flowered be cut off, so as to better promote the sprouting of new branches and continued flowering.