Snapdragon

In the Central European lowlands, snapdragons are not reliably hardy and are mostly kept as annuals. Let them die in autumn and plan to sow again; often the plant sows itself. If you want to try anyway, cut the shoots back after flowering and cover the soil at a sheltered, well-drained site with leaves or brushwood, or bring container plants into frost-free quarters, bright and cool just above freezing, and water them only very sparingly there.

The easiest way to propagate snapdragons is by sowing. The seeds need light to germinate; from February to March, lay them on lightly moistened seed compost and just press them in without covering them. At around 16 to 20 °C they germinate within two to three weeks. Put the trays somewhere bright, but not in full sun. Prick out the young plants as soon as they are strong enough and plant them in the bed after the Ice Saints in mid-May. If you want to keep special cultivars true to type or overwinter individual plants, you can take cuttings about 10 cm long from healthy mother plants, depending on the cultivar and weather in early summer or from late summer to early autumn, from semi-ripe shoots. Remove the lower leaves and insert the shoot into moist propagation substrate. Keep the cuttings bright and evenly moist until they have rooted, and take them back outside only after the last frost. Note: plants propagated from your own seed do not come true to type; bought cultivars and hybrids can segregate. Seeds that sow themselves in the bed occasionally overwinter and germinate the following year.