Antirrhinum majus
Snapdragon
Cut
Flowers
‘Axiom Yellow’
‘PA Rose’
Taxonomy & Origin
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Member of Scrophulariaceae
40 species
Origin is the Mediterranean area
Herbaceous perennial
Uses and Sizes
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Cut flowers
Garden plants
Bedding plants
Potted plants
Hanging baskets
• Dwarf to 36 - 72”
• Trailing or upright
Colors & Flower Types
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White
Red
Rose
Pink
Yellow
Orange
Bicolors
• Single
• Double
• Openfaced
(butterfly)
Five lobed
petals
Raceme
2 upper lobes
form a mouth
Pedicel
3 lower
lobes
Corolla fused
into a tube
Perfect flowers
Cut Flower Cultivars
Flower Time Photoperiod
Light
Temperature
(night)
Group 1
SD
low
45-500 F
SD
moderate
50-550 F
Winter
Don’t need in the South
Group 2
Early Spring
Group 3
0
LD
Mod-high
55-60 F
LD
High
>600 F
Spring
Group 4
Summer
Propagation
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Seeds
10 days at 64 - 68 0 F under light
Buy plugs from specialists propagator
Need high light or supplemental light
for best quality
Flowering Control
• Facultative long day plant.
• Flowering occurs faster under long days but can
occur under short days.
• Juvenile plants (< specified leaf number) will not
respond to LD.
• When mature enough to perceive LD,
temperature effects rate of flower initiation, not
development.
• Higher temperatures reduce time to flowering.
Flowering Control
• Once flower initiation has occurred,
temperature has little effect on days to flower.
• The time between visible flower bud and
anthesis is not influenced by light duration or
intensity.
Temperature
• Plants like warm temperatures during early and
cool temperatures during later stages of growth.
• Usually grown at 50-520F night temp throughout
production, however.
• When the media is cool and the air is warm the
ability of the plant to take up water is restricted
and the plants will wilt (on bright, sunny winter
mornings).
Light
• Ability to fix carbon may be the difference
between cultivar classifications.
• Winter flowering- not delayed by low light and
SD because they have a short juvenile phase.
• Summer flowering- longer juvenile phase and
higher leaf number under LD and high light.
Light
• High pressure sodium lamps decrease time to
flower and increase quality when used to
supplement light in the winter.
• Most economical if used in the seedling stage of
growth because plant density is higher.
• Incandescent lighting can also be used to extend
the day to 18 hour or use night interruption.
Snapdragon Culture
• Do not overwater!
• Overwatering and Pythium root rot go hand-inhand.
• Ground beds should be at least 6 inches deep to
allow for adequate drainage.
• Group I and II responsive to CO2 during the
winter.
Snapdragon Culture con’t
• Low nutrient requirement compared to
poinsettias and chrysanthemums.
• 100 ppm constant liquid feed.
• Nitrate N is preferred to ammonium.
• Sensitive to low levels of Boron and it must be
present (B becomes deficient when Ca levels are
too high).
Snapdragon Culture con’t
• Aphids are a major insect pest.
• Sanitation, soil treatment, air movement,
humidity control help to reduce disease
damage.
• Cut flowers can be grown single stemmed
or pinched.
• Potted plants may need to be pinched.
• Bonzi drench for height control in potted
flowering plants.
Scheduling and Timing
Based on cultivar and time of year:
If cultivar is not properly selected for a particular
time of year 1. Flowering problems will occur
delayed or accelerated
2. Vegetative problems will also occur
small, weak plants vs. large, grassy plants
Postharvest
• Harvest cut flowers when 1/3 of
inflorescence is open.
• Preservatives can double vase life.
• Sensitive to ethylene - one-hour pulse
of STS at room temperature.