Firmly Rooted Snapdragons

By Tori Carver

While snapdragons may be considered a secondary or filler flower to most flower farmers (myself included) they are by far my favorite annual.

I start planting them in the Fall and plant continual successions so I have them blooming all the way through the growing season. Sometimes nature, or my propensity to procrastination interferes, but the plan is to always have snapdragons in bloom.

I find them to be the easiest of all seeds to start. The seeds are the size of dust particles (literally) so I think the excitement of seeing a tiny set of leaves emerge from a speck of a seed is nothing short of miraculous. Most people use a moistened toothpick to pick up a single seed and drop it in the cell of a seed tray. I used to do that too, but now that I’ve got a few years under my belt, I’ve realized they don’t need nearly as much room to grow as I used to give them, so now I just sprinkle 2 to 4 seeds per cell. They need light to germinate so I gently sprinkle a thin covering of vermiculite on top and wait for the miracle to happen.

After a month or so, I harden them off and plant in landscape

Victoria (Tori) Carver is a flower farmer. From the thousand bulbs and plants that she puts in the ground each year she creates lovely bouquets. Many enjoy her flowers in their home each week. She has established a subscription program for her customers or a honor-system bouquet sales for random purchases. Tori and her husband and children make their home in Clayton, where they are a treasured part of the community. If you are interested in Firmly Rooted Flower Farm please reach out by email to firmlyrootedflowerfarm@gmail.com or phone 706-490-0041. You will also enjoy their website at www.firmlyrootedflowerfarm.com fabric about 6 inches apart. Since they are tall and narrow they don’t require much space between plants. They like full sun, but I find they grow best with a little afternoon shade. I think they appreciate a respite from the summer heat.

Now onto the tricky part of growing snapdragons. Choosing the proper variety. Now, don’t get discouraged. I won’t get too technical so stay with me.

Snapdragons are highly responsive to day length and temperature. They are classified into four groups which correspond with the growing and harvest periods. For instance, Group 1 harvests in the winter, Group 2 is in the spring and Fall, Group 4 is in the summer, and Group 3 harvests in the cusps between spring/summer and summer/fall. Once you have that information it’s easier to choose the proper varieties to plant based on the season they’ll bloom.

My favorite varieties? Why, thank you for asking. I’m forever a fan of the Costa and Potomac varieties. I’ve also grown the Rocket series and the Madame Butterfly series with moderate success, but they’ve never blown me away like Costa snapdragons planted in the fall for a spring harvest. The longest and strongest stems imaginable.

Besides being a huge fan of snapdragons, the bees adore them too. Snapdragons have a lip petal which bees must grip in order to open the flower and access the nectar and pollen inside. At sunset, I often see them seeking overnight lodging in their petals too. If you follow me on Instagram, I’ve got a great video of a bee trying to open a petal to settle in for the night.

I hope this little tidbit of information helps you become a fan of snapdragons too!

Victoria (Tori) Carver is a flower farmer. From the thousand bulbs and plants that she puts in the ground each year she creates lovely bouquets. Many enjoy her flowers in their home each week. She has established a subscription program for her customers or a honor-system bouquet sales for random purchases. Tori and her husband and children make their home in Clayton, where they are a treasured part of the community. If you are interested in Firmly Rooted Flower Farm please reach out by email to firmlyrootedflowerfarm@gmail.com or phone 706-490-0041. You will also enjoy their website at www.firmlyrootedflowerfarm.com