Herb. No. 252 · Plantaginaceae
Mediterranean cliff plant; a world bedding and cut-flower annual.
Native · Mediterranean
Native Also grown
LegalGentleplant
Snapdragon
Antirrhinum majus
Garden flowersFlowersHarvestCompanions
The dragon mouth you pinch for a child — a cool-season spire that makes a cut-flower row before the zinnias take the heat.
Snapdragon is a Mediterranean perennial grown as a hardy annual. In zone 6b it is a spring-to-early-summer cut flower; heat stops it, and a fall sowing or a late start can give a second, shorter show. The flower is a mechanical joke (pinch, dragon, release). It is not a salad. Rust and a floppy stem are the two garden problems: space, sun, and a cat-wire support along the row.
Flavor
Not a food flower.
Parts used
Flower (cut)
Helpful
- Cool-season color before zinnia
- A vase stem with a neck
- Easy from seed indoors
Cautions
- Heat ends the first flush
- Rust in wet years
- Not edible