Antirrhinum majus Fruit Salad Up Purple

Antirrhinum x majus Fruit Salad Up Purple is a brand new scented snapdragon, with as many flowers as traditional varieties which are beautifully sized, unusually shaped and wonderfully coloured in purple-pink and white. They are tightly packed in generous spikes all summer. This variety is simply magnificent as cut flowers, and its compact habit works well in rockeries, borders, flower beds, and pots on the terrace.

Antirrhinum, better known as snapdragon or lion's mouth, is a genus that was formerly part of the Scrophulariaceae family, now transferred to the Plantaginaceae family. Snapdragons are herbaceous plants that are perennial and shrubby, originating from America, North Africa and mountainous regions of Europe.

The brand new 'Fruit Salad' series brings together perennial but short-lived and net very hardy hybrid snapdragons to be grown as annuals in most regions. These plants form upright and compact well-branched clumps 35 cm (14in) high and about 30 cm (12in) wide. The stems bear dark green leaves more or less tinged with bronze and lance-shaped. The flowering period extends from May-June to September-October with upright flower spikes, abundantly covered with flowers. In these 'Fruit Salad' varieties, the flowers are particularly wide, open in a funnel shape, and are formed by broad petals. In 'Fruit Salad Up Purple', the flowers are white, spotted, veined and speckled with rose-purple.

Snapdragons are part of our childhood memories with their small velvety, fragrant flowers that you can bury your nose in. They are easy to grow for all gardeners, in borders, flower beds or rockeries. In the north or in heavy soil, treat them as annuals. Varieties like 'Fruit Salad Up Purple' are perfect for cut flowers, flower beds, flowering pots or cottage gardens. You can associate them with Damask nigellas, perennial flax and valerians (Centranthus ruber). Their flower spikes are highlighted among bushy plants with decorative foliage (fennel, cineraria maritima, artemisias, lavender, cotton lavenders) or ground cover roses. Once the plant is established you can regularly remove faded flowers to extend its flowering.

Snapdragons owe their common name to the particular shape of their flowers, which resemble mouths when pinched.

Note: Please be aware that our young plug plants are professional products reserved for experienced gardeners: upon receipt, repot and store them under cover (veranda, greenhouse, cold frame...) at a temperature above 14°C (57.2°F) for a few weeks before planting them outdoors once the risk of frost has passed.