Caring for snapdragons

tryphena rose · Jun 26, 2019

I planted some snapdragons two days ago now that are already nicely bloomed. They are looking a little wilty and don't seem to be standing up as nice and tall as they were when I first purchased them. I've never worked with snapdragons before and am afraid to over water them. They're currently getting good amounts of sun and by late afternoon, they're in plenty of shade. Is this droopy look due to transplanting them, a sign that they just need some more time or is there something else I should do to help them stay nice and strong?

~Anastasia~ · Jun 26, 2019

tryphena rose said:
I planted some snapdragons two days ago now that are already nicely bloomed. They are looking a little wilty and don't seem to be standing up as nice and tall as they were when I first purchased them. I've never worked with snapdragons before and am afraid to over water them. They're currently getting good amounts of sun and by late afternoon, they're in plenty of shade. Is this droopy look due to transplanting them, a sign that they just need some more time or is there something else I should do to help them stay nice and strong?

I hope they do well for you. I'm afraid I couldn't advise since snapdragons would probably immediately wilt here this time of year (too hot here).

If the soil is reasonably well drained,
(1)transplanted
(2)flowers
(3)in the sun
usually need watering every day here, especially at first.

I listed that way because each of those three factors tend to increase water needs.

tryphena rose · Jun 26, 2019

~Anastasia~ said:
I hope they do well for you. I'm afraid I couldn't advise since snapdragons would probably immediately wilt here this time of year (too hot here).

If the soil is reasonably well drained,
(1)transplanted
(2)flowers
(3)in the sun
usually need watering every day here, especially at first.

I listed that way because each of those three factors tend to increase water needs.

Thank you Anastasia! I live in California, so it can get very hot here as well, though currently we're still in the 90's soon to be in 100's. Do they not do good in heat? Right now, I have them in a pretty sunny area (I would say they get about 8 solid hours of sun a day) and am watering them once a day during my morning routine. I keep them in the sun because the label said they're full sun.

~Anastasia~ · Jun 27, 2019

tryphena rose said:
Thank you Anastasia! I live in California, so it can get very hot here as well, though currently we're still in the 90's soon to be in 100's. Do they not do good in heat? Right now, I have them in a pretty sunny area (I would say they get about 8 solid hours of sun a day) and am watering them once a day during my morning routine. I keep them in the sun because the label said they're full sun.

I'm not really a snapdragon expert, and there are different kinds. I'd say do what you're doing - I think you did right to put them in the sun, though afternoon shade might help. And I'd keep watering every day (at least for a while and maybe always) as long as the soil drains.

Are they perking up any? Transplanting can cause stress and wilt too.

tryphena rose · Jun 30, 2019

~Anastasia~ said:
I'm not really a snapdragon expert, and there are different kinds. I'd say do what you're doing - I think you did right to put them in the sun, though afternoon shade might help. And I'd keep watering every day (at least for a while and maybe always) as long as the soil drains.

Are they perking up any? Transplanting can cause stress and wilt too.

Thanks again Anastasia! I appreciate the help. They're doing a bit better now that I've put them in the shade and have deadheaded them. They look more perky, so I'll just continue to watch them carefully. It was painful snipping off all the beautiful flowers though, lol! God bless you! :wave:

~Anastasia~ · Jun 30, 2019

I'm glad they are doing better!

dms1972 · Jul 1, 2019

tryphena rose said:
Thanks again Anastasia! I appreciate the help. They're doing a bit better now that I've put them in the shade and have deadheaded them. They look more perky, so I'll just continue to watch them carefully. It was painful snipping off all the beautiful flowers though, lol! God bless you!

We had them at a community garden I used to volunteer at. They are really cool. I haven't grown them myself. Maybe adding a balanced liquid feed every few weeks when you water would help?

tryphena rose · Jul 1, 2019

dms1972 said:
We had them at a community garden I used to volunteer at. They are really cool. I haven't grown them myself. Maybe adding a balanced liquid feed every few weeks when you water would help?

That's really awesome you volunteer at your community garden! I'd love to volunteer in my neighborhood but there's a long list for many other volunteers atm. :sigh:

When I first spotted snapdragons at my local gardening center, I loved them instantly! They're very beautiful plants. Currently, I'm using miracle grow, which I just scoop into the water and feed all my plants with. Do you think that's good enough or is there a specific brand you might recommend?

dms1972 · Jul 3, 2019

tryphena rose said:
That's really awesome you volunteer at your community garden! I'd love to volunteer in my neighborhood but there's a long list for many other volunteers atm. When I first spotted snapdragons at my local gardening center, I loved them instantly! They're very beautiful plants. Currently, I'm using miracle grow, which I just scoop into the water and feed all my plants with. Do you think that's good enough or is there a specific brand you might recommend?

Thats cool, l'll post a picture when I get some time of some of the ones we had at the CG.

I use miracle grow too

.

It can be tempting to overdo it with feeds, and the thing with MG is that it boosts leaf growth too, not just flowering.

Begin with fresh compost if you can. If you are not using pots but planting straight into the garden, work a bag of compost into the flower bed.

Fertilliser and feeds have an NPK rating. Nitrogen (N), Phosphorous (P), and Potassium (K) (or Potash).

Nitrogen in your soil is the leaf maker.

Both Potassium and Phosphorous contribute to fruiting and flowering, but in different ways.

Potassium encourages the uptake of water, but be very careful if adding Potash to your soil separately as too much is defo not a good thing.

Phosphorus is important for a plant's roots.

Check the NPK on your pack of Miracle Grow, I don't have one to hand. I suspect its Nitrogen rich, compared to the other two ingredients??

tryphena rose · Jul 3, 2019

dms1972 said:
Thats cool, l'll post a picture when I get some time of some of the ones we had at the CG.

I use miracle grow too .

It can be tempting to overdo it with feeds, and the thing with MG is that it boosts leaf growth too, not just flowering.

Begin with fresh compost if you can. If you are not using pots but planting straight into the garden, work a bag of compost into the flower bed.

Fertilliser and feeds have an NPK rating. Nitrogen (N), Phosphorous (P), and Potassium (K) (or Potash).

Nitrogen in your soil is the leaf maker.

Both Potassium and Phosphorous contribute to fruiting and flowering, but in different ways.

Potassium encourages the uptake of water, but be very careful if adding Potash to your soil separately as too much is defo not a good thing.

Phosphorus is important for a plant's roots.

Check the NPK on your pack of Miracle Grow, I don't have one to hand. I suspect its Nitrogen rich, compared to the other two ingredients??

Wow! That's all very helpful information, thank you! I had no idea what to look for in plant food but my grandma uses Miracle Grow and gets good results, so I just went on a whim and put my trust in it lol. Yes, it certainly looks to be nitrogen rich which would make sense since the leaves on my flowers have been growing nice and big. On the label it says the nitrogen is 24%, the phosphate is 8% and the potash is 16%. I've been feeding every 7 days, which on the label it recommends every 7-14 days. You mentioned overfeeding, so would you recommend I push that back a little or should every 7 days be fine?

dms1972 · Jul 5, 2019

tryphena rose said:
Wow! That's all very helpful information, thank you! I had no idea what to look for in plant food but my grandma uses Miracle Grow and gets good results, so I just went on a whim and put my trust in it lol. Yes, it certainly looks to be nitrogen rich which would make sense since the leaves on my flowers have been growing nice and big. On the label it says the nitrogen is 24%, the phosphate is 8% and the potash is 16%. I've been feeding every 7 days, which on the label it recommends every 7-14 days. You mentioned overfeeding, so would you recommend I push that back a little or should every 7 days be fine?

I don't want to advise you wrong, I am not an expert - I have been doing more reading. Snapdragons seem to be able to spring up in rocky places, even grow from between stones in a wall so they seem to not need much depth. We had ours in a flower wheel, that some of the other volunteers had made - the soil wasn't all that deep, and I doubt it was very rich. Strangely some plants do well with poor soil - be a bit more sparing with feed, maybe a bit less, but water as needed.

Here is some more info:

Antirrhinum (Snapdragon)

These were the ones we had in the community garden.

tryphena rose · Jul 7, 2019

dms1972 said:
View attachment 259096

I don't want to advise you wrong, I am not an expert - I have been doing more reading. Snapdragons seem to be able to spring up in rocky places, even grow from between stones in a wall so they seem to not need much depth. We had ours in a flower wheel, that some of the other volunteers had made - the soil wasn't all that deep, and I doubt it was very rich. Strangely some plants do well with poor soil - be a bit more sparing with feed, maybe a bit less, but water as needed.

Here is some more info:

Antirrhinum (Snapdragon)

These were the ones we had in the community garden.

Thanks for the picture! They're beautiful! And again, thank you for all the helpful information. I really appreciate you taking the time to help out! :wave:

~Anastasia~ · Jul 7, 2019

How are they doing as far as wilting?

tryphena rose · Jul 7, 2019

~Anastasia~ said:
How are they doing as far as wilting?

They haven't grown that much more but they aren't wilting anymore at all! They look quite healthy now and I'm keeping them in shade pretty much the whole day, which they seem to prefer. Hopefully they'll get even stronger so I can see those pretty blooms again soon! ^_^

~Anastasia~ · Jul 7, 2019

Oh that's good to hear! It's hard to know how plants might do in a slightly different climate but summer snaps sound like shade would help.

I hope you have lots of beautiful blooms soon!

Caring for snapdragons

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