Saturday, November 14, 2009

Anyone know how to care for snapdragons?

i'm new to gardening and i don't speak the language they use on the sites i looked at. What's 'pinching' and 'benching'? how much or how often do i water them? direct sunlight? what do i do to make them flower again next year? thanks

Anyone know how to care for snapdragons?
'Piinching' the top out of a plant such as a snap dragon causes it to branch below the pinch, thus giving 2x the blooms. To do this pinch or cut off just a bit of the top of the plant. It will be a tad slower to flower, but will be twice as many blooms.


Basically snap dragons are like any other plant, if you put your finger in their soil, and it is dry, water it. Deadhead ( remove dead flowers) from it so that the plant does not use its energy to make seeds, and its will use the energy to make flowers. Toward the end of the season allow them to make seeds and they will often then reseed themselves. These are basic instructions for growing most things, water when dry, deadhead so that the plant is not overly stressed making seeds, don't let the roots get too hot by putting in a container rather than the ground, when exposed to direct sun at long intervals, keep mulch around the roots to keep it moist, like grass clippings that do not contain seeds, and remove any weeds that might take the moisture and nutrients, nothing too difficult, and lots of fun. Hope you enjoy your snap dragons, they are a favorite of mine.
Reply:It depends on your climate as to whether or not they will come back next year. They are considered an annual where I live. They are pretty hardy though and if you cut of the dying stems you will get new flowers throughout the season
Reply:They like direct sun. Pinching means pinching the top tips off. This causes them to fill out more. After they have tiny seeds in their pods, sprinkle these seeds into the soil %26amp; work them in. Next year, you'll have a new crop.
Reply:they are pretty hardy,,,just get em going, water them occasionally and stand back,,,yes they do come back next year


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