Snapdragons are colorful, whimsical bloomers that lend a romantic cottage garden feel to your garden. Snapdragons are cool-season flowers and bloom in early spring into summer and then again in the fall. Snapdragons are low-maintenance plants requiring adequate sunlight, good drainage, deadheading, occasional fertilizer, and regular watering in order to bloom. Factors including over-pruning, poor drainage, low light, or over-fertilization can decrease blooming in snapdragons.
Common Reasons Why Snapdragons Aren’t Blooming
Snapdragons may not be blooming due to lack of full sun. Full sun will promote maximum blooming potential. Another reason why snapdragons may not bloom is if they have too much or too little water. Regular watering and adequate drainage is important for keeping your snapdragons blooming. Proper pruning and deadheading maintenance is also important to keep your snapdragons blooming.
Pruning Snapdragons To Help It Bloom
Deadheading, or pruning off spent flowers, is an important task for your snapdragon that will help your plant continue blooming. Once a flower stalk has wilted and died, cut it back to just above the next set of blooms or new growth. Deadheading encourages new growth and new buds and flowers. Be careful not to trim off the new buds or next growth.
Cutting the plant back to the ground is another way to prune your snapdragons to encourage flowering in the next season. Snapdragons fade when the summer heat sets in, and this is a good time to cut the plant back to just a couple inches above the ground. This pruning allows it to rest prior to putting on new growth and flowers for the fall.
Fertilizing Snapdragons To Help It Bloom
Fertilizing is an important task to keep your snapdragons healthy and full of blooms. Begin fertilizing snapdragons once they begin flowering. Using a fertilizer with a 10-10-10 NPK ratio will benefit more than just foliar growth. Follow a 2-4 week fertilizing schedule, being careful not to over-fertilize your plants.
Why Snapdragons Aren’t Blooming
- Inadequate exposure – snapdragons want full sun
- Over- or under-watering – regular waterings are needed along with adequate drainage
- Inadequate deadheading – prune off spent flower stalks to encourage new growth and new flowers
- Hungry plants – fertilize with a balanced fertilizer once flowering begins
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Author Katie Endicott - Published 7-05-2022 |