CATDOLL : CATDOLL: Is snapdragon suitable for home cultivation? It seems to be called the flower of death?

Is snapdragon suitable for home cultivation? It seems to be called the flower of death?

Although snapdragons are poisonous plants and flowers, they can be grown at home. There is no problem as long as they are not accidentally eaten. Snapdragons can also be used to purify the air.

The flower shape of snapdragon is very peculiar. The base of the flower is swollen into a sac shape. The upper lip is upright, wide, and generally split in two; the lower lip is shallowly split in three, spread out, and curved outward, bulging towards the upper lip in the middle, closing the throat. The entire corolla looks like a goldfish, and is more like a dragon's mouth and dragon head, hence the name snapdragon, also known as dragon mouth flower and dragon head flower.

There are many varieties of snapdragons, hundreds of them, and the colors are gorgeous. In addition to the common blue, there are various shades of red, orange, yellow, purple and white, as well as various intermediate colors of the lip and tube. The color of snapdragon flowers is related to the color of the stem. Generally speaking, if the stem is green, the flower color is all colors except purple, and if the stem is red, the flower color is only red and purple.

The corolla of snapdragon can be single or double petals, and there are also bell-shaped flowers with the upper and lower lips not closing and the lips opening upward. The snapdragon can be divided into tall varieties with a plant height of 90-120 cm and a later flowering period; medium-sized varieties with a plant height of 45-60 cm and a medium flowering period; tall varieties with a plant height of 10-30 cm and a shorter flowering period are suitable for cut flowers, and dwarf varieties are suitable for potted plants.

Snapdragons grow relatively strongly and are easy to cultivate. Snapdragons like sunlight, have a long flowering period, and have bright colors. Therefore, Snapdragons are common flowers in gardens and courtyards. In recent years, Snapdragons have also been cultivated on the balconies of many families. Snapdragons have become an important balcony flower.

Snapdragon

It doesn’t have the name you mentioned, but it likes sunlight and air circulation, so it’s not suitable for growing at home.

Snapdragon (scientific name: Antirrhinum majus L.) is a perennial herbaceous plant of the genus Antirrhinum in the family Scrophulariaceae[1]. It is named after its flower that resembles a goldfish.

The snapdragon plant is 20-70 cm tall, with oblong lanceolate leaves, racemose inflorescence, tubular lip-shaped corolla, white, red, purple, yellow and other colors, and ovate capsule. It likes sunlight, tolerates semi-shade, is relatively cold-resistant, and is not resistant to extreme heat. It is suitable for loose, fertile, well-drained soil, and can also grow normally in calcareous soil.

Chinese name

Snapdragon

Order

Scrophulariales

Latin name

Antirrhinum majus L.

Aliases

Dragon head flower, lion flower, dragon mouth flower, foreign bird of paradise

division

Scrophulariaceae

Binomial

Antirrhinum

boundary

Plant Kingdom

Door

Angiosperms

Genus

Antirrhinum

Outline

Dicotyledons

kind

Snapdragon

Subclass

Asteraceae

How to properly cultivate snapdragon

Reprinted from Baijiahao Author: Dongfang Talks about Agriculture

Want to grow snapdragons yourself but don’t know how to start? Let an experienced flower farmer with 15 years of flower growing experience teach you

Snapdragons are tall and straight, with racemes growing at the top of the stems, densely packed florets, and bilabiate corollas that look like swimming goldfish, hence the name Snapdragons. Snapdragons have a wide variety of colors, including red, white, pink, yellow, purple, orange, and complex colors, and are very popular among people. They are widely used in my country's gardens and green spaces. There are currently hundreds of varieties cultivated, which can be divided into three categories according to plant height.

Tall type: plant height 90~120 cm, late and long flowering period; medium type: plant height 45~60 cm, medium flowering period; short type: plant height 15~25 cm, earliest flowering period. Its short type varieties can be planted in various flower beds and flower borders in clusters, widely used in rock gardens, and can also be potted for viewing or winter forcing cultivation to enrich winter indoor flowers; medium and tall types are good materials for cut flowers, and can be kept in water for a long time in vases, and can also be used as background or centerpiece of flower beds and flower borders.

[Origin and Distribution]: Originally from the Mediterranean coast of southern Europe and North Africa, it is now widely cultivated around the world.

[Biological characteristics]: Snapdragons are native to the Mediterranean region. They are perennial herbs and are often cultivated as one- or two-year-old flowers. They are relatively cold-resistant, not heat-resistant, and like sunlight, but also tolerate semi-shade. They can overwinter in the open field in the south of the Yangtze River, but need to overwinter in protected areas in the north.

The suitable temperature for growth is 7-10 from September to March of the following year, and 13-16 from March to September. When the temperature exceeds 15, the seedlings will not branch and the plant shape will be affected. Snapdragon is sensitive to water and cannot be waterlogged, otherwise the roots will rot and the stems and leaves will turn yellow and wither. Some varieties are not sensitive to the length of light and prefer well-drained, humus-rich, fertile and slightly heavy soil, preferably neutral or alkaline.

[Propagation method]: Snapdragon is mainly propagated by sowing, but it can also be propagated by cuttings

1. Seed propagation

Snapdragon seeds are small, with about 6,000 to 6,500 seeds per gram. They are sown in loose sandy mixed soil in autumn or spring, slightly covered with fine soil, and kept moist, but not too wet. The optimum temperature for seed germination is 15 to 20 degrees, and it can germinate in 1 to 2 weeks.

2. Cutting propagation

The superior varieties and double-petal varieties of snapdragon are not easy to bear fruit. In early summer from June to July, you can choose strong young branches for cutting propagation. The cuttings are 10 to 15 cm long. The lower leaves are removed and 2 to 3 leaves are retained on the upper part. The cutting medium can be vermiculite or sand. Water immediately after cutting. Pay attention to shade and moisturizing. It will take about 10 to 15 days to take root and can be transplanted after 20 days.

【Cultivation points】:

When the seedlings grow 2 to 3 leaves, they can be transplanted. The suitable temperature for the seedling stage is 12 to 15 degrees during the day and 2 to 10 degrees at night. It usually takes 2 to 3 transplants before it can be transplanted. When used as cut flowers, the planting density is 40 cm to 45 cm between rows and plants. If the plants are cultivated in 3 to 4 pairs, pinch the top 14 days after transplanting, leaving 3 to 4 strong branches at the base and removing the remaining side buds. For single-stalk cultivation, only the main stem is left, and all side buds are wiped off at any time to ensure that the flower branches are strong and upright with appropriate branch length. When the plant height is 25 to 30 cm, pull the net to prevent lodging, and continuously raise the net position as the plant grows. Snapdragon likes fertilizer. In addition to applying enough basal fertilizer before planting, topdressing should be done once every 10 to 15 days during the growing season.

In the early stage, nitrogen fertilizer is mainly used. When entering the flower bud differentiation stage, the amount of phosphorus and potassium fertilizer should be increased. Its flowering period is relatively long. Appropriate topdressing can be applied 2 to 3 times during the flowering period, and the soil should be kept moist to promote the growth of the plant and luxuriant flowering. After flowering, the remaining flowers should be cut off in time to save nutrients and promote the germination of the lower side branches, so as to ensure continuous flowering. Snapdragon likes sufficient light conditions. When the light is insufficient, the plant often grows too long, the flower bud differentiation is small, and the flowering quality is significantly reduced. Therefore, attention should be paid to the selection of planting sites. Snapdragon is not very cold-resistant. When the temperature is below 0, the plant is easily frozen and withered. Therefore, after the beginning of winter, it should be moved to a sunny bed or a solar greenhouse in time to protect it over the winter.

[Flowering period regulation technology]: The key to flowering period regulation is to adjust the propagation time and pinching pruning

1. Forcing cultivation

(1) Flowers for the May Day holiday should be sown in the ground in early August, and placed in the cold bed for wintering in mid-October. The tops should be pinched once. In addition to adding cattail mats or other means of insulation at night, plastic film or glass windows should be added during the day to increase the temperature of the cold bed, and appropriate ventilation should be provided at noon. Fertilizer water should be applied once in November as frozen water, and 0.1% potassium dihydrogen phosphate should be sprayed 3-4 times in February and March of the following year. The flowers can bloom in mid-April in advance and can be used for the May Day holiday. In addition, dwarf early-flowering varieties should be selected, sowed in the greenhouse in January and February, and the room temperature should be maintained at 15°C. The flowers will germinate in 10 days. The flowers should be maintained normally in the greenhouse, and the seedlings should be transplanted twice. The flowers can be planted in small soft plastic pots. Flower buds can be seen in mid-April, and they will bloom one after another, and can be used for the May Day holiday.

(2) For flowers for Christmas, New Year's Day and the Spring Festival, choose medium and tall varieties, sow them in the open field in late summer and early autumn, and strengthen fertilizer and water maintenance management. Transplant them to a sunny place in the greenhouse or on the ground from late September to early October, apply enough organic base fertilizer, the soil should be fertile and well-drained, pay attention to air circulation, maintain a daytime temperature of 20-25 degrees and a night temperature of 10-15 degrees, so that they can bloom in mid-to-late December.

2. Delay the flowering period

(1) Select medium-sized varieties and plant them in the field in June and July. Pay attention to rain and waterlogging prevention. They will bloom in September and October.

(2) In mid-July, the plants that have bloomed in May should be pruned heavily and water and fertilizer management should be strengthened. They will bloom again in mid-September and be used for the National Day.

(3) For tall and medium-sized varieties, pinching can delay flowering. Each pinching can delay flowering by 2 to 3 weeks. If sowing is done in early August, flowering will normally occur in mid-to-late May of the following year. If pinching is done once in March when the medium-sized varieties are taken out of the cold bed, the flowering period can be extended to mid-to-early June.

(4) Pruning and pinching to promote secondary flowering. Removing dead flowers can extend the flowering period; heavy pruning after flowering can cause secondary flowering; pinching and bud removal can delay flowering. Pruning dead flowers after flowering in May, and pruning dead plants in mid-to-late July will force new branches to grow and secondary flowering in early October.

[I am Mr. Dongfang, an experienced flower farmer. I will use my 15 years of cultivation experience to teach you how to correctly cultivate "Snapdragon". If you like it, please click to follow! ]

Snapdragon is a very beautiful flower, often used as cut flowers. Its common flower colors include white, light red, dark red, dark yellow, etc. Its petals are ovate and have high ornamental value. So how to plant Snapdragon? Let's learn about the cultivation methods of outdoor Snapdragon.

1. Planting

Snapdragon seeds can be sown in spring and autumn. Generally, seedlings grown in autumn grow stronger than those sown in spring, and the flowers bloom better than those sown in spring, so they are generally sown in autumn.

2. Transplantation

3-4 weeks after sowing the seedlings, the first pair of true leaves are fully developed and can be transplanted when they are about 2-3 cm. Do not plant too densely in the seed tray, about 1.5 plants per square centimeter, or you can use plug trays to sow directly to save the labor of transplanting. When there is insufficient sunlight in winter, artificial light can be supplemented to cultivate strong seedlings.

3. Temperature

Snapdragon likes cool weather, and the optimum temperature for growth is 10-27 ℃. It can grow at higher temperatures during the seedling stage, but the temperature needs to be lowered after planting. Cultivating it in a cool environment of 15 ℃ can produce high-quality cut flowers. The standard cultivation temperature abroad is usually 10 ℃ at night. Snapdragon flowering does not require vernalization, and too low a temperature will delay the formation of flower buds and hinder their development.

4. Picking

When cultivating cut flowers, the spacing between plants is 10 cm × 15 cm for single-stem planting, and 20 cm × 20 cm for pinching multiple stems. Single-stem production can save the labor of pinching, and the harvest time is 3-4 weeks earlier than pinching, and the flowering time is consistent. When the plant grows to 15-20 cm, the first layer of net can be laid, and the second layer of net can be laid when it is 30-40 cm. The flower net uses 12 cm square grids, and gradually increases with growth.

5. Pest and disease control

In terms of insect pests, it is susceptible to borers, thrips, red spiders and night moths, which can be controlled with 2000 times diluted sulfur metsulfuron and 1000 times diluted pedan. In the seedling stage, it is susceptible to fungi in the soil and suffers from damping-off disease. The soil should be thoroughly disinfected before planting and attention should be paid to ventilation. In the growing period, it is susceptible to gray mold, wilt, rust and sclerotinia. The field humidity should be controlled, the leaves should be kept free of moisture, and good ventilation should be maintained to reduce the harm of the above diseases. Infected plants should be destroyed immediately to avoid the spread of pathogens. Methyl thiophanate 1000 times diluted is usually used for chemical control.

6. Harvest

The flowers should be harvested when 1/2 to 2/3 of the florets on the spike have unfolded, and should be immediately placed in water after harvesting. The inflorescence is ground-facing, so it should be placed upright during packaging and transportation to prevent the inflorescence from bending.