Snapdragon: A Bright And Unpretentious Flower

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

The annual snapdragon plant, upon closer acquaintance, turns out to be very delicate in appearance, as for its formidable name. Thin stalks are strewn with spikelets of small buds, which dissolve delicate petals of pink, yellow, lilac, white, blue colors. A high degree of decorativeness, a huge variety of species and resistance to adverse conditions have made snapdragons one of the most popular flowers in landscape design. What should be considered if you are going to plant it for the first time on your backyard?

Conditions for growing snapdragons

Snapdragon is a light-loving plant. And you need to choose a place for a flower bed with an annual plant in open areas, well filled with fertilizers. In order for the flower to please with its development, the soil is filled with organic matter.

The composition of the soil should be moderately loose, breathable. Such conditions will correspond to the type of soil loam. Acidity prefers in the range 6, 0-8, 0 pH.

It should be noted that the period of development of the plant relative to other annuals is longer. And if you plant it in a damp area or lowlands, where water flows and where water stagnates, this will further inhibit the growth of flowers and even lead to death.

In addition to high decorativeness, among the advantages of the snapdragon is its excellent cold resistance. To improve this characteristic, measures are taken to harden the seedlings. This will protect the flowers from late spring frosts. And yet you should not rush to plant seedlings in open ground. Lack of heat and light leads to a delay in development, elongated inflorescences, pale petals.

Reproduction of snapdragons through seedlings

Snapdragon seeds germinate slowly, but if you want to decorate your front garden with these bright flowers, you should not wait for warm spring days and delay with crops. From the moment of sowing the seeds to the beginning of flowering, depending on the characteristics of the variety, it can take from three to five months. Therefore, in the middle lane, the flower is propagated through seedlings.

A soil mixture for sowing seeds is prepared from the following components:

• humus;

• sod land;

• sand.

All ingredients are taken in equal parts. Sowing is carried out in March. The soil is pre-treated with a solution of potassium permanganate. The calculation of seeds is done so that for 1 square meter. area was used no more than 0.5 g of seed.

Seedling can be expected approximately 2 weeks after sowing. After another week and a half, the first pick of the seedlings is carried out. The second pick is planned to be held in another month. Landing on a flower bed is carried out only in the second half of May.

The placement of seedlings in a flower bed depends on the size of the variety:

• Giant varieties, which reach a height of 1 m, are planted in a 15 x 20 cm pattern.

• Tall and medium-sized crops range in size from 40 to 60 cm. They require a feeding area of 25 x 25 cm.

• Stunted and dwarf species, which are below 25 m in height, make planting holes at a distance of 20 x 20 cm.

Care features

At the time of budding and at the beginning of the flowering period, it is advisable to feed the flower beds. To do this, use an ammophoska - 15 g per household bucket of water. This volume is enough for feeding 1 square meter. landing area.

In regions with harsh winters, snapdragon is cultivated as an annual, but is essentially a perennial plant. And if, with the arrival of cold weather, mother plants are transferred for wintering indoors, later these flowers can be used for propagation by cuttings.

Snapdragon is quite resistant to common plant diseases. But an incorrectly chosen place or mistakes in care lead to the appearance of spotting, defeat by fusarium, and rot. In order not to lead to this, it is impossible to allow waterlogging of the soil and stagnant water.

From planting pests, aphids, scoops, slugs can attack. In the fight against it, spraying with infusions of onion peels, tobacco broth helps. Traps are placed against slugs and collected by hand.