majus Antirrhinum Dazzling Lips Red

The Antirrhinum majus Dazzling Lips® Red is a early and highly floriferous snapdragon that offers large, fragrant deep red flowers on sturdy stems. A vibrant colour for this snapdragon that makes a statement in the garden as well as in a vase. In addition to its ornamental qualities, it is also a plant that is highly visited by pollinators. It is a rather compact variety, well suited for summer flowering on terraces and balconies.

Known in gardens since 1583, the Antirrhinum majus was a favored plant in monastery and clergy gardens. This plant, belonging to the plantain family, is native to the western Mediterranean basin, where it grows between rocks on the arid slopes of the South. In France, it can be found as far as Lozère and Aveyron. There are even plants rooted in the mortar of old walls protecting gardens. Contrary to popular belief, wild snapdragon species as well as certain varieties are perfectly perennial if provided with poor, sandy, rocky soil, in full sun and sheltered from cold winds.

The 'Dazzling Lips Red' snapdragon is a recent selection, part of a series of hybrids (the 'Dazzling Lips') selected for their early and perpetual flowering, large and fragrant flowers, carried by sturdy stems. It is more of a biennial plant than a perennial, rarely living for more than two years. In the year following planting, it forms a clump of approximately 50-60 cm (20-24in) in height and 30-40 cm (12-16in) in width. Its upright, sturdy stems are covered with opposite or alternate, lanceolate, entire, glabrous leaves of a beautiful deep green colour. These leaves will persist on the plant if the winter is mild. The flowering renews from May-June to September-October, in successive waves. 'Red' offers solidly built spikes, bearing large, tubular-based flowers that open into undulating lobes of a vibrant and uniform red colour. They are highly visited by bumblebees and butterflies. Snapdragons readily self-sow in the garden, in light soil, but not always faithfully compared to the parent plant.

Snapdragons are part of our childhood memories. With their small, velvety snouts that emit a fragrance when you bury your nose in the flowers, they are plants accessible to all gardeners, easy to plant in borders, flower beds, or containers. North of the Loire and in heavy soil, treat them as annuals, which doesn't matter considering their generosity. Large varieties like the 'Dazzling Lips' are perfect for cut flowers, flowering pots, or "cottage gardens". For example, associate them with love-in-a-mist, perennial flax, and valerians (Centranthus ruber). Their flower spikes are beautifully showcased when emerging among bushy perennials like aster cordifolius or ground cover roses, cotton lavenders, 'Powis Castle' artemisias. Once the plant is established, you can regularly remove faded flowers to prolong its blooming period.

The snapdragon gets its vernacular name from the particular shape of its flowers, which, when pinched, resemble the appearance of mouths.