Should You Remove the Spent Blossoms from Snapdragons?

Types

• Snapdragon varieties are classified into three different types -- dwarf, medium or tall. Dwarf plants are small, bushy plants with vigorous flowering stems and work well in containers or as an edging plant in the garden. Medium plants are often grown as cut flowers with more sturdy stems from 15 to 30 inches in height. Tall snapdragons are those ranging in size from 30 to 48 inches and work well for the back of border gardens, as part of a wildlife garden or to be used for cut flowers. Tall plants produce a column of blooms that begin to open from the bottom up on a sturdy stalk. (The University of Lincoln-Nebraska still recommends staking even the sturdiest-looking stalks against wind and rain to avoid flattening the plant.)

Why Deadhead?

• Snapdragons, like all annual plants, have a one-season life cycle. Their purpose is to produce seed. They do this after flowering occurs. By removing the spent blooms after the flower is past its prime, you keep the plant from doing its job -- producing seed. So, it forces the plant to keep producing flowers in order to get to the seed production.

How to Deadhead

• Deadhead all varieties of snapdragon by removing the faded flower once its past its prime. Simply pinch off the flower, including the the green portion attaching the flower to the stem. If you only remove the faded blooms, you will leave the stamen intact where the growing seed is located. Snapdragons are cool-season annuals that prefer the spring and early summer temperatures around 80 degrees F. To get a returning bloom show in early fall, simply trim plants down by a third or two-thirds to encourage new growth and blooms when the temperatures begin to cool down again.

New Cultivars

• Flower breeders are always looking for ways to create better blooms for different colors, circumstances and disease-resistant. Some cultivars of snapdragon may be market as "self-cleaning" and advertised as not needed deadheaded. Many of these cultivars are trademarked varieties by their producers and are created specifically not to create seeds. They can only be created by mixing the two parent plants.