Antirrhinum majus Taxonomy & Origin Snapdragon Cut • Member of Scrophulariaceae Flowers • 40 species • Origin is the Mediterranean area • Herbaceous perennial ‘Axiom Yellow’ ‘PA Rose’ Uses and Sizes Colors & Flower Types • Cut flowers • Dwarf to 36 - 72” • White • Single • Garden plants • Trailing or upright • Red • Double • Bedding plants • Rose • Open- • Potted plants • Pink faced • Hanging baskets • Yellow (butterfly) • Orange • Bicolors Five lobed Cut Flower Cultivars Raceme petals Flower Time Photoperiod Light Temperature (night) 0 2 upper lobes Group 1 SD low 45-50 F Pedicel Winter form a mouth Don’t need in the South Group 2 SD moderate 50-550 F Early Spring 3 lower Group 3 LD Mod-high 55-600 F Corolla fused lobes Spring into a tube Group 4 LD High >600 F Summer Perfect flowers 1 Propagation Flowering Control • Facultative long day plant. • Seeds • Flowering occurs faster under long days but can • 10 days at 64 - 68 0 F under light occur under short days. • Juvenile plants (< specified leaf number) will not • Buy plugs from specialists propagator respond to LD. • Need high light or supplemental light • When mature enough to perceive LD, for best quality temperature effects rate of flower initiation, not development. • Higher temperatures reduce time to flowering. Flowering Control Temperature • Plants like warm temperatures during early and • Once flower initiation has occurred, cool temperatures during later stages of growth. temperature has little effect on days to flower. • Usually grown at 50-520F night temp throughout • The time between visible flower bud and production, however. anthesis is not influenced by light duration or intensity. • When the media is cool and the air is warm the ability of the plant to take up water is restricted and the plants will wilt (on bright, sunny winter mornings). Light Light • Ability to fix carbon may be the difference • High pressure sodium lamps decrease time to between cultivar classifications. flower and increase quality when used to supplement light in the winter. • Winter flowering- not delayed by low light and SD because they have a short juvenile phase. • Most economical if used in the seedling stage of growth because plant density is higher. • Summer flowering- longer juvenile phase and higher leaf number under LD and high light. • Incandescent lighting can also be used to extend the day to 18 hour or use night interruption. 2 Snapdragon Culture Snapdragon Culture con’t • Do not overwater! • Low nutrient requirement compared to • Overwatering and Pythium root rot go hand-in- poinsettias and chrysanthemums. hand. • 100 ppmconstant liquid feed. • Ground beds should be at least 6 inches deep to • Nitrate N is preferred to ammonium. allow for adequate drainage. • Sensitive to low levels of Boron and it must be • Group I and II responsive to CO2 during the present (B becomes deficient when Ca levels are winter. too high). Snapdragon Culture con’t Scheduling and Timing • Aphids are a major insect pest. Based on cultivar and time of year: • Sanitation, soil treatment, air movement, humidity control help to reduce disease If cultivar is not properly selected for a particular damage. time of year - • Cut flowers can be grown single stemmed 1. Flowering problems will occur or pinched. delayed or accelerated • Potted plants may need to be pinched. 2. Vegetative problems will also occur • Bonzi drench for height control in potted flowering plants. small, weak plants vs. large, grassy plants Postharvest • Harvest cut flowers when 1/3 of inflorescence is open. • Preservatives can double vase life. • Sensitive to ethylene - one-hour pulse of STS at room temperature. 3.