Growing Snapdragons
How to start and grow Snapdragons
Ah, the beautiful Snapdragon. We have grown them for a few seasons, and have learned a thing or two on how to produce this beautiful, constant blooming flower. We will outline how to grow Snapdragons through a tried and true method. First off, for best success, you have to start them indoors. So find a nice south facing window, or get a grow light and heat mat to get started. Here are some steps.
Growing snapdragon seedlings.
- Sow your snapdragon seeds indoors 8-12 weeks before the last frost using seeds procured from a reputable seed provider (Johnny’s is my preferred seed provider).
- Sow the seeds thinly and press them into the top of the soil (they need light to germinate)
- Keep the soil moist and at around 65 degrees F
- The seedlings will pop in one or two weeks.
- The seedlings need plenty of light at this stage to grow, so insure a nice window setting or a grow light. Note: they need rest, so don’t leave your light on 24 hours a day. 16 hours is fine.
- Once they have 2 set of leaves, thin them out to one plant per cell in your growing tray or pots.
- To encourage better branching and more flowers, pinch the tops off when the seedlings reach 3-4 inches tall.
- Feed them some fertilizer at 3-4 weeks.
- Harden off your seedlings by slowly exposing them to the outdoors over a week.
- Transplant the hardened-off plants to the garden after the last heavy frost. Snapdragons can tolerate light frost.
That’s it! A quick to guid to growing snapdragons, one of our favorites. Enjoy your flowers in a bed or for cutting throughout the growing season.