Snapdragons Unleashed: Managing Their Spread for a Beautiful Garden

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The snapdragon plant, also known as the antirrhinum, is a genus of plants that is quite popular in many parts of the world. The snapdragon (some people refer to it as the dragon flower), is a popular plant that you can add to your house or you can grow in your garden.

It’s going to make a welcome addition any place you want, and it’s important that you know how to care for them. The number one reason why the snapdragon is so popular is because of its unique resemblance to the face of a dragon.

Snapdragons are generally spiked flowers that have small blooms that run on a single stalk. The blooms usually occur at the bottom of the plant in the beginning, and then all the way to the top.

The plant is generally classified as an annual plant, and the length of the plant generally varies between three or four feet tall. The plant is usually available in a range of different colors, and in some cases, they are also bicolored, with a range of different hues.

Have you ever wondered how the snapdragon plant continues to come back again and again? It’s a mystery that eludes most people, but one that can be answered by simply taking a look at the production and propagation methods used by the plant.

Snapdragons tend to propagate using seeds or via cuttings. The plant is generally known to many people as a “self-seeding” annual plant.

When the plant is left alone, the seeds from the spent flowers usually fall to the ground, and they are even able to survive the winter (with temperatures up to -30 degrees!), and they can then come back the next year as fresh plants.

One day, you might go outside to see new plants growing in your garden, and these might be new snapdragons!

But, if you want, you can grow a snapdragon on your property and have it spread on its own to different parts of the garden. If you want to encourage the growth of snapdragons on your property and like the different colors that they offer, you can simply leave them be.

The seeds from the flowers are going to fall on the ground, and with the passage of time, they are going to grow on their own. If you want, you can also plant a few snapdragons on your property by yourself.

Here’s how that works.

The Traveling Seeds

If you want to plant snapdragons on your property, there are several steps that you need to take.

For instance, you can start the plants indoors, or you can sow them directly outside on your own. If you are going to start the snapdragon indoors, it’s important that you follow the directions on the package as accurately as possible.

Make sure you use a seed starting mix and water them properly. We have already talked about just how hardy these seeds are, but it’s recommended that you provide them with a bit of water from below instead of from the top.

You need to take care that the mixture remains moist at all times. Within a couple of weeks, you will notice the seeds starting to germinate.

When you are sure that there is no chance of a frost, you should start by planting the strongest and the most resilient seeds out in your garden. Make sure you sow the seeds after the frost has passed.

On the other hand, you can also plant them out in the garden and start them outdoors only. To do this, you will want to start by planting the seeds once the frost is over. If you plant them outdoors only, you should expect them to bloom a bit later in the season as compared to seeds that have been planted indoors and then moved out.

If you want to get the bushiest blooms from any of the methods, it is recommended that you pinch back the leaves and deadhead the fresh blooms on a regular basis.

You can also grow snapdragons using only the cuttings. To propagate the plant in this manner, you will want to start by cutting the stems at a 45 degree angle, and then plant them indoors using a seed starting mix.

You can always use sand or vermiculite as well. If you want, a bit of rooting hormone can be used as well.

The stems will take root within a few weeks, and once they have hardened off and the plant continues to bloom, you can then decide to move it to another, permanent location if you want.

To make it easier for most people to understand, snapdragons spread via traveling seeds. Wind dispersal has been their primary method of spreading since they originated!

Discouraging the Spread

If you want to discourage the spread of the snapdragon plant, you are going to have to be a bit more careful. You need to make a schedule for regularly deadheading the plant.

You will have to examine the plants carefully each time, especially during the peak flowering season, and then look for petals or spent flowers on each of the spikes found on the stalk.

If the plant begins to flower poorly, you might have to shear back the entire plant. It’s recommended that you take an active approach for deadheading if you want to prevent the spread of the plant.

We have already talked about the primary method of spreading, so it might be a wise idea to add some coverings on the side of the plant as well.

However, these aren’t really effective as compared to deadheading; as long as you remove the flowers and the seeds on time, you will be able to limit the spread by a considerable margin.

Another thing that you can do is hire a professional gardener or a landscaping service to make sure that the additional seeds are removed from the property on a timely basis.

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