Growing Tips for Cool Season Snapdragons

 

Grow cool season snapdragons in the spring and fall and you will enjoy not only the sweetly scented flower but also the bumblebee, hummingbirds and other pollinators.  

Snapdragons are flowers that grow best when the weather is cooler.   These cheerful flowers grow well with pansies and even though they will survive a mild frost they will die if exposed to snow or extreme cold weather below 25 degrees Fahrenheit.

Here is a photograph of dwarf pink and red snapdragons that I planted with pansies. Photo was captured in early spring.

cool season dwarf snapdragons and pansy container garden

 

Plant snapdragons by seed in early spring or in the fall season. Or you can buy snapdragons at your local nursery and transplant the nursery grown dwarf flowers to a container or tall snapdragon flowers in the ground The tall snapdragons look fabulous when grown as masses.

 

tall pink snapdragons grown in masses

For seeds you should start your snapdragon seeds indoors eight weeks before the last frost. Transplant seedlings when the leaves have developed and plants are thriving. Remove the tips of the snapdragons once they have six leaves this will encourage a fuller flower bloom.

Cool season snapdragon flowers grow best in full sun and well drained soil 

 

Snapdragons are classified as an annual in my growing zone. They are perennials in USDA plant hardiness zone 7-10.  

Plant snapdragons in a container or in the ground.  Choose an area that has full sun.  Plant in well-drained soil and space them 8 inches apart. This flower will thrive with repeat blooms when temperature is average to 60 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit.  

 

Snapdragon flowers attract pollinators, bees, hummingbirds and butterflies

Water snapdragons so that the soil is moist, let it dry out between waterings, but not to the point that soil pulls away from the stem.  Check the soil by inserting your finger, push down into the soil about an inch if the soil is dry then water the snapdragons at the soil line and not above.  Avoid wetting the flowers and the leaves. 

Fertilize the snapdragon flowers throughout the growing blooming season.  I fertilize with Miracle-Gro bloom booster.  It’s a liquid feed formulated for perennial and annual flowers. 

Check your snapdragon flowers daily for dead blooms.  Remove spent flowers to encourage more flower blooms. 

If you have extremely hot summers try cutting them back and applying mulch.  Continue watering and hopefully the snapdragon will return in the fall when weather cools.

Flower Blooming Tips for Clematis

  

For many years growing clematis was trial and error then a few years ago all of my efforts were awarded because I had glorious blooms. 

I had planted clematis from seeds and then learned that it would be many years before the clematis would bloom.  I did not want to wait years for a flower so I bought a nursery-grown clematis that was two years old and I planted it in my yard where it would get six hours of direct morning sun with part shade to shade in the heat of the day, followed by sun at dusk.

 

The soil had a slight alkaline PH and I set up a soaking hose that would provide a slow drip throughout the day.  Which kept the well-drained soil moist but not wet during our extremely hot summer months.  

My clematis was healthy it was climbing the trellis and the leaves were green and thriving but I had no flowers.  My neighbor told me that the top of the plant needs sun but the roots need to be kept cool and should be shaded.  I applied a thick layer of organic mulch in May and fertilized.

 

Clematis was fed every two weeks during blooming season (May – July) with Miracle-Gro water-soluble bloom booster for flowers. This flower fertilizer is water-based and can be used on all flowers, annuals, and perennials during the growing season.