When and How to Plant Gourmet Snapdragon

Snapdragon grows in almost every flower bed and in many garden flower beds. It is grown exclusively from seeds, which are planted either on seedlings or directly into open ground. At the same time, the principles of care are approximately the same and extremely simple. To bloom, a snapdragon needs moderate watering and occasional loosening. But there are several techniques that will allow you to achieve more abundant and long-lasting budding.

Briefly about the plant

Snapdragon, or antirrinum, is a herbaceous plant with straight stems. Depending on the variety, the height of the flowers varies from 30 cm to 1 m. The foliage is colored in light or dark tones of green and has an elongated shape. During flowering, a pleasant sweet aroma spreads in the garden.

Interesting fact
Snapdragon, dogs, mouths - these names were given to antirrinum because its flowers, if you gently press them from the sides, open, resembling a mouth or a miniature mouth.

Individual flowers are collected in spike-shaped inflorescences, can be with a smooth or double surface, painted in a variety of colors. In flower beds, pink, white, red or yellow tones are most often found. The plant blooms throughout the warm period, up to the first nighttime temperature drops.

Snapdragon is a perennial plant, but in our climates it is easier to sow seeds every year than to try to preserve the rhizome. After the end of flowering, we recommend that you collect the seed and plant it next year.

When to plant seeds

The sowing method plays a decisive role in this issue:

• directly into open ground;
• in seedling boxes.

For the first method, the optimal time is the end of April or even May; in the south, this work can be carried out at the beginning of April. The main condition is that warm weather has set in the street, and the soil has warmed up to + 15-17 ° C.

We sow seeds for seedlings much earlier: at the end of February or before March 8, after the appearance of 5-6 true leaves, we plant antirrinum in a flower garden or on a flower bed. With such care, the first buds will appear in early July.

Moon calendar

Many gardeners follow the lunar calendar when planting. Here are some recommendations:

• most astrologers note that snapdragon should be sown at the beginning of March, specifically on the 5th, 6th, 7th or 15th, these days the night star is not only in a waning phase, but also in fertile constellations;
• however, if you wait on March 20, 21, 24, 25 or on April 2, 3, 11, 12, 13, 20, 21, the plantings will take root better;
• a good period for transplanting plants is when the moon is growing, when the roots are less sensitive to the inevitable damage during the procedure.

Days when it is better to do household chores:

• March - 1-3, 16-18, 30, 31;
• in April - 15-17, 29, 30.

These days it is better to prepare an instrument or read literature. If possible, collect rainwater or melt snow - water will be needed to water the plants.

What to do before sowing

Having familiarized yourself with the peculiarities of growing the variety you like, you should take care of the seed. If we buy it in a store, be sure to pay attention to the expiration date and condition of the package: there should be no breaks or other damage. In the store, you can pick up plants of any color, variety and size.

If we collect the seeds ourselves, then dry them in a well-ventilated area, and then put them in small portions in plastic bags.Be sure to indicate the variety and shade of flowers. Next, we put the stock in the refrigerator and leave it until the end of February.

Seed preparation

If the seeds were refrigerated, no additional stratification is needed. Prolonged exposure to cold will increase the germination of the material. Before sowing, we place the seeds in a weak solution of potassium permanganate - this is how we disinfect each individual seed. After this treatment, lay the material in an even layer on a napkin and dry it. At this time, we are engaged in a plot or seedling boxes.

Production of soil mixture

Many gardeners recommend purchasing soil for snapdragon seedlings in garden stores. However, making it yourself is quite a doable task. To do this, take sod soil, sand, humus, peat and wood ash.

Soil preparation:

1. Pour into a large container all the components in the same proportions.
2. Mix the ingredients.
3. Sift the soil through a coarse and fine sieve.
4. We place different fractions of the soil in different containers and water with a strong solution of manganese.
5. We leave the soil for 48 hours.
6. We put a thin layer of drainage on the bottom of the seedling boxes, then fill the containers up to half with a coarse soil fraction and fill the remaining space with light earth sifted through a fine grate.

Sitting on seedlings, moving to the site

The seeds of antirrinum are small, so they are not planted individually. We recommend mixing them with dry fine sand in equal proportions and then start planting.

Operating procedure:

1. In the boxes we make shallow grooves at a distance of 20-30 mm from each other.
2. We water them from a thin watering can with rain or melt water.
3. Pour the sand with seeds into a paper bag with a cut off corner.
4. We pour the material into the grooves, evenly distributing it.
5. Fill the furrows with light soil and slightly moisten them with a spray bottle.
6. We wrap the boxes in a covering material or cover with glass.

The first shoots germinate on the 10th day. At this time, we remove the glass and put the boxes on the windowsill. 2 real leaves have grown - we dive, plant them in separate containers and feed the seedlings with ready-made complex mineral fertilizer. We periodically moisten and loosen the soil in containers with seedlings.

Landing in open ground

As soon as 6 main leaves grow, and it is warm outside, we proceed to transplant the snapdragon into a flower garden. First of all, we prepare the ground. If the site has sandy soil or loam, no operations are needed.

In all other cases, we prepare top dressing (based on 1m² land):

• wood ash - 200 g (glass);
• nitroammofosk - 1 tbsp. l .;
• humus - 4 kg;
• peat - 1 kg.

We choose a bright place for planting and prepare the holes. How much antirrinum flowers should be separated from each other depends on the variety and type of plant (see the table below).

Table. The minimum distance between individual colors

Pour the prepared nutrient soil into the holes. We water the seedlings well before transplanting. So it is easier to get out of the glasses, and the root system is not damaged. We rake the soil in the hole and plant the snapdragon along with the earthen clod, it is important to deepen the bush to the cotyledon foliage. We slightly compact the earth around the flower and water it with water. After that, pour a layer of mulch around the plants.

Snapdragon care at a glance

It should not be heavily flooded. In a hot period, it is better to increase the number of irrigations, but not to increase their volume.

Once every 2 weeks we feed the flowers, especially during the flowering period, using ready-made complex fertilizers or diluting 400 g of superphosphate in a bucket of water. It is better to remove wilting inflorescences. This care will prolong the flowering period and make your plants even more attractive.

When the first ovary of flowers begins to fade, we simply cut off the shoot by 3 parts in height, water and fertilize well.After 20-25 days, our flower bed will again be covered with multi-colored shades.

All of these works are simple. The main thing is to love what you do, and snapdragon flowers will delight you throughout the warm season.