How to Care for Snapdragons

Snapdragons are the tall spikes in a mixed design, stacked with little blooms that open from the bottom of the stem to the top. With good care they usually last 5 to 10 days in the vase. The one thing that matters most is keeping them upright: snapdragons are so sensitive to gravity that a stem left lying on its side will curl its tip up toward the light within hours.

When your snapdragons arrive

1. Keep the vase standing up straight. Carry it by the base, set it down level and don't lay it on its side, even for a minute in the elevator.
2. Check the water. Most of our arrangements sit in water in the vase, and the level can drop on the way across town. Top it up with cool, clean tap water.
3. Add the flower food packet we include. Snapdragon buds need its sugar to open with good color.
4. Choose a cool, bright spot out of direct sun, away from radiators, heating vents, air-conditioning drafts and the fruit bowl.
5. If the design sits in foam, water it daily and leave the stems where they are.

Got a hand-tied bouquet with snapdragons? It is wrapped and meant for your own vase. Choose a tall vase that holds the spikes upright, fill it with cool water and the flower food, remove the wrap and any rubber band, strip leaves that would sit below the water, cut about an inch off each stem at an angle with a sharp knife or clean pruners, and put the flowers straight in.

Everyday care

• Fill the vase up daily. Mixed flowers drink more than you would expect.
• Change the water every 2 days or so, or sooner if it looks cloudy. Rinse the vase, refill with cool water and the rest of the flower food.
• Each time you change the water, trim about half an inch off each stem at an angle.
• Remove any leaves that slip below the waterline. They rot and cloud the water.
• Keep the vase in one spot rather than moving it from room to room.

Our guide to making cut flowers last covers these basics in more detail.

Make them last longer

• Keep the light even. Snapdragon tips keep growing a little after cutting and turn toward the light. A spot with light from above or all around keeps them straighter than a single sunny window, and turning the vase every day or two evens things out.
• Snip off faded blooms. The lowest blooms on each spike open first and fade first. Pinch or snip them off as they brown so the spike looks fresh while the upper buds open.
• Keep them away from ripening fruit. Most snapdragons are sensitive to ethylene, a gas given off by ripening fruit, cigarette smoke and fading flowers. Too much of it makes the blooms drop early, even while they still look fresh.
• Keep them cool. Warmth speeds everything up, including the bending. A cooler room at night, away from steam heat, can add a few days.
• Don't strip more leaves than you need to. Take off only the ones that would sit in the water.

Common problems

Why are my snapdragons bending upward?

That is the flower, not a problem with the order. Snapdragons curve their tips up toward light and away from gravity whenever the stems are tilted or lit from one side. Keep the vase upright, give them even light and they often straighten somewhat as they drink. A curve that has already set won't fully reverse, but many people like the natural look.

Why are the blooms falling off?

Sudden dropping of healthy-looking blooms is usually ethylene. Move the vase away from fruit, smoke and any fading flowers, and pull out spent stems from the arrangement. The lowest blooms dropping late in the week is simply age.

Why aren't the top buds opening?

The tip buds need food and water to open, so make sure you used the flower food packet and the vase never runs dry. The last few buds at the very top often stay closed, which is normal.

Why are the stems drooping?

A drooping stem is usually a thirsty stem. Recut it under running water, put it back in fresh water with flower food and give it a few hours. Our guide to reviving drooping flowers walks through it step by step. If something looks wrong within 3 days of delivery, send us your order number and a photo under our refund policy and we'll take a look and make it right where we can.

Good to know

• Pets: the ASPCA lists snapdragon as non-toxic to cats and dogs. But several snapdragon designs (including Spring Time and Pink Passion) also contain lilies, and lilies are life-threatening to cats, even the pollen or vase water. We can make any of them without lilies: write "no lilies" in your cart's order note, or call us. Read our pet-safe flowers guide, and if you think a pet has eaten any plant, call your vet or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center.
• In our arrangements: you may see coral snapdragons in Elegance, and snapdragons in the Spring Time arrangement and the Pink Passion and Field of Dreams bouquets.
• Color: bright colors can soften after a few days even while the stems stay firm. That is normal. A bright spot (out of direct sun) and the flower food help the color hold.
• Season: snapdragons are a cool-weather garden flower, strongest in spring and early summer, and greenhouse stems are around much of the year. For what is in the shop this week, call us.
• The name: squeeze the sides of a bloom and it opens like a little dragon's mouth.