Snapdragon perennial: description of the best varieties, planting and care, pollination

Each species and variety of perennial snapdragon has its own distinctive features. The flower is herbaceous or semi-shrub. In addition to beautiful flowering, the plant has medicinal properties. Growing is best done through seedlings. In order for the plant to develop successfully, it is necessary to provide it with proper care, which involves proper watering and top dressing, pruning, treatment for diseases.

Description and features

Snapdragon has another name - antirrinum, which is translated from Greek as nose-like.The flower, depending on the variety, belongs to semi-shrub or herbaceous plants. Distinguished by its long, thin, grooved, branched green stem. The height of the stem reaches 1 meter.

The leaves of the flower are large, oblong. Their color can be light or dark green. Red veins are observed on the leaf plate. At the bottom of the stem, the leaves are located opposite each other, closer to the top they grow in an alternate position.

In June, flowering begins and continues until frost. Inflorescences are formed in the form of an ear. Large flowers exude a pleasant, fragrant aroma. Flowers are simple or double, the color depends on the variety. The plant needs cross-pollination. Bumblebees and bees help with this.

At the end of flowering, fruits in the form of a box with seeds remain in place of the buds. If you prepare the plant for the winter cold, then snapdragons are grown as a perennial.

Views

All types of antirrinum differ in growth characteristics, stem structure and height.

Giant

These types of plants are characterized by high growth. The stem stretches to a height of up to 132 cm. The bushes differ in shoots of only the second order, which are much smaller than the central stem.

High

Varieties of high bushes reach 87 cm. The central stem is much higher than the side branches. In most cases, they are grown for cutting.

Medium height

Universal varieties do not exceed 58 cm in height. They are grown both for decorating flower beds and for cutting. This group of plants is distinguished by excessive branching. The central stem is almost the same height as the side branches.

Short

Low-growing varieties of snapdragons are distinguished by shoots of the second and third order. They can grow up to 38 cm in height.

Dwarf

Dwarf-type bushes do not exceed 22 cm in height. They decorate the garden plot, but can also be grown in pots. All varieties branch well and do not take up much space.

Ampelous

Ampel varieties of a flower differ in height (can be from 25 to 98 cm), as well as the size and color of the bud. Varieties bred specifically for growing in pots.

Popular varieties

There is a wide variety of varieties of snapdragon. When choosing, take into account the type of growth and branching features.

Rocket

Tall, vigorous variety blends well with other plants, tolerates heat. The stem reaches a height of 92 cm, the width of the flower grows to 42 cm.

Lemon

The height of the bush does not exceed 31 cm. Large flowers are distinguished by the presence of three lemon-yellow petals.

Orchid

The stem of the flower stretches up to 23 cm, the width of the bush is not more than 17 cm. Flowering begins early. Lavender flowers.

Golden

Grown for cutting. Inflorescences are high (up to 1 meter in height), in the form of an ear. Bright yellow flowers.

Bronze

The height of the central stem reaches 88 cm. The inflorescences are large, bicolor, yellow-pink.

Madam Butterfly

Terry, large flowers are collected in brushes and differ in all sorts of shades. A bush is formed up to 68 cm high, 37 cm wide.

Tip Top Irma

The shoots reach a height of 82 cm. A distinctive feature is the color of the flower - pink petals are framed by a yellow border. Flowers are suitable for cutting and for decorating the site.

Alaska

The plant forms a bush no more than 62 cm high. Branching is weak. White flowers.

Volcano

A narrow bush up to 72 cm high is formed. Yellow-beige inflorescences are distinguished by a rich honey aroma. The variety resists frost well.

Brilliantrosa

The bush forms inflorescences in the form of a pyramid. The stem stretches up to 77 cm. Large bright pink flowers.

Velvet Giant

The flower bush reaches a height of 82 cm, a diameter of 33 cm. Large flowers have an interesting red-purple color.

Cherry Improved

The variety is distinguished by lush, dense flowering. Refers to tall species. Cherry pink flowers.

The Rose

A tall variety of snapdragon forms bushes that look like roses. Large flowers are painted in a pink hue.

Black Prince

An undersized form of antirrinum. The flowers are large, maroon in color, collected in brushes. Dark green, black shoot.

Coronette

Early flowering, mid-sized species of snapdragon. The shrub does not grow above 58 cm. The color of the flowers can be white, pink, dark red.

Wildrose

Strong stem height up to 42 cm. Compact bush. The flowers are beautiful, light pink in color.

Golden Monarch

Srednerosly variety of snapdragon with bright lemon-yellow flowers. The height of the bush is 48 cm. During flowering, a lush brush of inflorescences is formed.

Defiance

Tall variety grown for cutting. The flowers are bright, large, velvety, bright red.

Libesglut

Strong stem stretches up to 58 cm. The bush has a semi-spreading crown. Flowers are medium sized, cherry red.

Red Chief

The variety has medium flowering time, undersized type of growth. The bushes are compact, up to 53 cm high. The flowers are velvety, dark red with a yellow core.

Crimson Velvet

The height of the shoot is up to 46 cm. The flowers are velvety, large, deep red, collected in voluminous inflorescences.

Scheelocke

The variety belongs to the dwarf group. A bush of spherical shape, does not exceed 22 cm in height. Snow-white flowers with openwork edges.

Crown

The plant forms a bush no higher than 32 cm. It has a long flowering period.

Tom-Tumb

The plant is undersized, spherical in shape. The flowers are small in size, various shades.

Floral

Flowers of this variety belong to the dwarf group. The bush is compact. Flowers can be of various shades.

Hobbit

Snapdragon variety belongs to the dwarf group. The stem grows to only 16 cm. Flowers can be of various colors.

Snappy

Short group of plants with early flowering that lasts for a long time. The color palette is diverse.

Twinnie

Short flower distinguished by double or semi-double purple inflorescences.

How to grow through seedlings

Plant seeds can be planted immediately in open ground. The first shoots will appear after 2.5 weeks. But this planting method is suitable for regions with a warm climate. Therefore, it is preferable to grow a flower through seedlings.

Preparation of seed and container

Seed planting begins in March. Prepare seed and containers:

• Small snapdragon seeds do not need to be treated with special preparations. All you have to do is select seeds suitable for sowing with a s alt solution.
• If there is any doubt about the quality of the material, then it is immersed for 17 minutes in a weak solution of potassium permanganate.
• The diameter of the containers must be at least 10 cm, drainage holes must be made at the bottom.

Soil preparation

Coarse sand is laid out at the bottom of the container, then there is a layer of compost with sand. After that, the soil is moistened with warm water from a spray bottle.

How to sow

Before planting snapdragon seeds, they should be mixed with sand. After that, the resulting mixture is evenly distributed over the entire surface of the wet soil. Planting is again moistened and covered with a film.

Temperature, light, humidity

The container with crops should be indoors at a temperature of +24 degrees. Every day, the film is removed for a while for ventilation.At this time, you should move the container to a well-lit place. Humidity should not exceed 70%. Under favorable conditions, the first sprouts will hatch after 8 days.

Irrigation

The soil should be kept moist all the time, so check it daily. In this case, it is not necessary to allow stagnation of fluid in the soil, otherwise the risk of developing fungal diseases increases. Watering should be done in the morning. Water is used only warm, settled.

Picking

After the appearance of two true leaves, a pick is carried out in large containers.

Growing

Seedlings transplanted into separate containers should be grown on the lightest windowsill. Planting should be protected from direct sunlight and drafts.

Hardening

As soon as the sprouts take root, carry out the hardening procedure. For this purpose, a window is opened daily for ventilation. The first day, the hardening time should not exceed 2-3 minutes. Gradually increase the time.

As soon as the weather outside becomes positive, the seedlings are taken out into the street. It is important to protect seedlings from drafts and direct sunlight.

Pinching

After five leaves appear on the plant, pinching is carried out. Thanks to the procedure, the bushes branch better. If the side branches are strongly extended, then it is also better to pinch them.

Landing in open ground

Replant seedlings only when the weather is warm and the threat of frost returns is minimal.

Sowing dates

Prepared seedlings begin to be planted in open space in the last days of May. A night drop in air temperature for snapdragons is not scary.

Choosing a seat

Choose a flower bed that is well lit by the sun. At the same time, the site must be protected from through winds.

Soil Requirements

The flower feels good in nutritious, loose soil with good aeration and neutral acidity. High acidity causes many diseases.

How to plant

Holes are made in the selected area. A nutrient mixture of peat, sand and compost is laid out at the bottom. The distance between the recesses depends on the variety:

• Dwarf varieties should be planted 16 cm apart.
• Leave an interval of 22 cm between undersized plants.
• Medium-sized requires more space, so the distance between the holes is made at least 32 cm.
• Tall bushes are planted at a distance of 48 cm from each other.

Before planting, the wells are well watered.

Care

Snapdragon belongs to unpretentious plants. Care is minimal and does not require much effort and time.

Irrigation

Watering plants is required only during the dry season, when there has been no rain for a long time. Watering is carried out in the morning with settled warm water.

Loosening and weeding

After watering, remove weeds and loosen the soil. The less weeds around the bushes, the less the risk of pests and diseases. Thanks to loosening, air, heat and nutrients penetrate better to the underground part of the plant.

Garter to support

Tall varieties of antirrinum need to be tied to a support. The procedure will help protect the tall stem from damage in bad weather and strong winds.

Cutting

Wilted buds must be cut on time. Thanks to this, flowering will be plentiful and lush. If wilted flowers are not cut, a seed box will form in their place, and the plant will spend all its energy on fruit development.

Wilted flowers are cut under the lower flower. After a while, a new arrow with buds will appear in this place.

Feeding

Care also involves the introduction of nutrients. In this case, the flowering will be lush and plentiful:

• the first fertilizing with organic compounds and nitrophoska is carried out after the rooting of the bush (12 days after planting);
• during the appearance of buds, a liquid solution of superphosphate, urea and potassium sulfate will come in handy.

Winter Preservation

With the onset of cold weather, the bushes are cut off, leaving stems 7 cm high above the ground. From above they are covered with straw, dry foliage or sawdust with peat.

Diseases and pests

To protect the plant from diseases and pest attacks, timely preventive treatment should be carried out. In case of a problem, chemicals are used.

The following measures will help prevent the problem:

• seeds should be disinfected and soaked in growth stimulants;
• when planting bushes, the recommended distance should be observed;
• don't let weeds grow around the flower bed;
• in the rainy summer, preventive treatment with antifungal drugs should be carried out.

Rust

The disease can be recognized by the brown growths that appear on the reverse side of the foliage plate. Affected leaves begin to dry, turn yellow and fall off.

Save the plant will help treatment with Bordeaux liquid, copper chloride, Topaz or Zineba solution.

Black leg

The defeat occurs mainly in young, fragile seedlings. The reason in most cases is excessive soil moisture. The basal part of the stem becomes thinner, darker and dries up.

Sick bushes should be removed from the site, and the soil should be treated with a solution of potassium permanganate.

Root rot

Leaves become pale, matte. Gradually, the leaves turn yellow and wither. The spread of the disease is facilitated by moist soil and low acidity.

Treatment is carried out with the help of drugs such as Fitosporin, Alirin.

Grey Rot

The disease develops in wet weather. The affected plant is covered with gray mold or brown spots that quickly increase in size.

First of all, you need to remove diseased plants from the site, the remaining flowers are treated with Bordeaux liquid, Kuproksat.

Septoria

Fungal disease develops in rainy weather or with excessive watering in cold, acidic soils. Whitish or yellow-brown spots appear on the leaves, which gradually coalesce. Over time, the leaves fall off, the plant loses its strength.

Processing with such preparations as Bordeaux liquid, Profit, Hom, Oksihom, blue vitriol helps.

Fly larvae

Fly larvae are small colorless worms up to 4.5 mm long. They live in the upper layers of the soil. They eat root branches, as a result, the flower fades.

Insecticides such as Grom, Aktellik, Karbofos, Aktara will help in the fight against larvae in the soil.

Shields

A harmful insect can infect plants. The body of the insect is rounded, brown. The pest feeds on plant sap. The leaves begin to turn yellow, deform, sticky marks appear on them. The buds do not open and fall off.

The following insecticides are used in the fight against scale insects: Inta-Vir, Bankol, Aktara.

Egg-laying butterflies

Butterfly caterpillars are very voracious, so adults should be disposed of in time. All types of scoops are common pests. Butterflies lay their eggs on weeds, caterpillars emerge from them and crawl onto flowers.

Against the scoop, the following remedies are effective: Decis, Arrivo, Bitoxibacillin. Helps infusion based on wormwood, wood ash.

Downy mildew

It will be possible to recognize the disease by a whitish coating on the upper half of the leaf plate. White or brown spores appear on the inner half of the leaf.

Ridomil, copper oxychloride or Previkur are used for treatment.

After flowering

Snapdragon bloom continues until the first frost in autumn. After that, perennial plant bushes are cut and mulched.

Collection and storage of seeds

Seeds ripen in fruits, which are a multi-seeded box. The collection of seeds begins immediately after their full maturation. Fully mature specimens are black.

Material collection is carried out as follows:

• remove the upper part of the arrow, on which the seeds are not yet ripe;
• put a plastic bag on the remaining section of the peduncle and tie just below the box;
• then completely cut off the peduncle;
• after the seeds are fully ripe and fall out of the boxes into the bag, they are transferred to a storage container.

Store the collected seeds in rolled paper or in cardboard boxes. In this case, the air will penetrate in sufficient quantities. The place should be cool and dry. If the right conditions are created, planting material can be stored for three years.

Reproduction

Reproduction of snapdragon occurs by cuttings and seeds. In addition, the flower reproduces well by self-sowing.

Seeds

Seeds are first sown in separate containers. The seedling method allows you to wait for flowering much earlier.

Cutting

It is more difficult to propagate snapdragons from cuttings, so the method is rarely used. In autumn, the strongest cutting is chosen and cut into separate sections 12 cm long. The cuttings are treated with growth stimulants, deepened in wet sand and covered with glass. Periodically, the glass is removed for ventilation.

After the foliage appears, the cuttings are transplanted into separate pots. In the spring, when warm weather sets in, the cuttings are transplanted to an open area.

Healing properties and use in traditional medicine

Useful substances that make up the plant determine the beneficial medicinal properties in various diseases. Decoctions and infusions help to cope with diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, organs of vision, and the genitourinary system.

Landscape use

Snapdragon will become a real decoration of the garden plot:

• Flowers are planted along paths and borders.
• Flowers look good in combination with other types of plants (for example, with poppy, sage, phlox).
• Look beautiful in hanging flowerpots that will decorate the veranda, loggia or balcony.
• Dwarf varieties of flowers look good on alpine slides.

The beautiful and bright bloom of snapdragons is sure to attract the attention of others. A variety of species allows you to choose the right variety for single cultivation and in combination with other plants.

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