Antirrhinums or Snapdragons are a personal favourite. They come in a beautiful assortment of colours and also the classic and delicate white.
Snapdragons got their nickname from flowers’ resemblance to the face of a dragon that ‘snaps’ its mouth when gently squeezed. They originated in rocky areas of Europe the USA and North Africa.
We are lucky enough that in modern times Snapdragons can be grown in home gardens and by growers all around the world. With proper care and environmental conditions, vase life is still relatively short. Five to eight days is what you can expect – it will vary by variety/colour.
With snapdragons, flower-food solution not only improves the opening of florets and increases vase life but it also improves the colour of the florets. I find that a table spoon of sugar in the vase will do the trick if you don’t have flower food.
Remove any foliage from the stems that would be under water. However, do not remove more leaves than necessary because doing so can stimulate flower drop.
Protect these flowers from sources of ethylene (fruit, decaying flowers/foliage, cigarette smoke and vehicle exhaust) as this could also stimulate flower droop. It is essential you put your snapdragons into a clean vase, not one that has had old flower water in it.
IF YOUR SNAPDRAGONS DROOP
- Add three teaspoons of sugar to a container with water & stir.
- Cut a few centimetres off the bottom of the stem at an angle.
- Put your stems in the water & lean them straight up against a wall to help them straighten out.
- Leave them for 3 – 5 hours until they straighten. The sugar willbe sucked up by the flowers, and will perk them up a treat.
- If the flowers do not perk up even slightly within 5 hours, add another teaspoon of sugar and a little more water.
Bobs your Uncle