tatwood,

That is an awesome selection of fancy snaps. Just out of curiosity, how do you go about ordering from a UK firm? Do you pay with just any Debit card, and do they ship by US Postal? I have never ordered from UK seed firms, because I presumed there would be problems with payment, import, etc. I am curious about the details of the process of purchasing seeds from the UK for delivery here in the USA.

ZM (not associated with any product or vendor mentioned)

ANTIRRHINUM AZALEA FLOWERED WHITE as pictured at Plants of Distinction

{{gwi:1249}}

They are gorgeous!
But what's the catch? You never see double snapdragons in nurseries or on seed racks, only in catalogs. I know that the trend in the nursery business is to sell instant gratification, but they still sell a few flats of 'Rocket' snapdragons each year, which don't reach their full glory for a couple months after planting. Maybe this is a quirk of the Phoenix Metro nursery business...or maybe I need to find better nurseries!

Kevin : /

Kevin,

If you want some really nice snapdragons, you need to get some fluorescent lights and start your own plants from seeds that you order from catalogs. You can't depend on the local nurseries to buy the really good seed when they can make more money growing and selling the less expensive varieties. For the best selection, shop in several different seed catalogs.

ZM

Zenman, I just used my debit card with no problem. The purchase prices and totals are in Pounds Sterling, but it is easy to calculate what that is in American dollars. Currently, one American dollar equals 1.6171 Pounds.
There is no problem getting seeds from other countries (usually); plants are a different story. 'Plants of Distinction' will import seeds to us, but not plants.

tatwood,

Thanks for that info. Plants of Distinction carry Zesty Zinnia and they may be the only source of that zinnia cultivar available to me. I have nearly exhausted our USA sources for Zesty Zinnia. Germania Seeds is a possibility, but they cater to commercial growers. It is good to have PoD available as an alternative.

If I were going to be starting snapdragons, I definitely would get some from Plants of Distinction. Some people say that our Kansas summers get too hot for snapdragons, so I am a little hesitant about snaps for that reason. When we gardened in Maine, summer heat wasn't a problem.

ZM

Zenman, I hate starting seeds indoors--hardening them off is often more trouble than the hazards they face starting outdoors! This may be just the severity of my climate, ie., high ultraviolet, low humidity, big difference between day and night temps, etc. That doesn't keep me from starting them in containers outdoors, and at least avoiding the pillbugs! I still think that the growers are missing potential sales.

As for the heat in Kansas, my experience is that snapdragons are among the last of the "winter flowers" to die out in the summer, here. I suspect that if you ensure good drainage, and use a few inches of organic mulch around the established plants, they'll be happy campers.

Thanks again, ZM!
Kevin : )

I would love some of those. They are gorgeous, but its £4.50 shipping, which works out to 6.51974 USD. A little steep for me.
Tammy

Tammy,

" They are gorgeous, but its £4.50 shipping, which works out to 6.51974 USD. A little steep for me. "

Tatwood said, "Currently, one American dollar equals 1.6171 Pounds." If that is correct, the math would be:

£4.50 / 1.6171 £/$ = $2.78

That number is a little more affordable. Of course, the conversion rate changes from day to day. The exchange rate mentioned by Tatwood seems encouraging to me, and right now it seems feasible to me to buy seeds from Plants of Distinction.

ZM (not associated with any product or vendor mentioned)

That rate is a lot better. I got my figures from the site below. I must be doing something wrong.
Tammy

Here is a link that might be useful: Money Conversion

Tammy,

"I must be doing something wrong."

Unfortunately, you were not doing something wrong. Apparently Tatwood's statement that "Currently, one American dollar equals 1.6171 Pounds" was incorrect. I prefaced my math with "If that is correct, ..." But the Money Conversion link that you provided indicates that it was not correct. So all bets are off. Your link currently states that:

1 GBP = 1.63215 USD

Tatwood apparently got the conversion wrong. Mistakes happen. So the actual conversion rate is quite discouraging. We apparently have weak dollars. Oh well. What a revolting development.

ZM

If you are looking for double azalea snaps seeds in the USA, check out Thompson and Morgan www.tmseeds.com. They offer Madame Butterfly, Twinny and Little Sweetheart, all are double azalea type snaps. I've grown the Madame Butterflies in the past, they are beautiful. All types are offered as mixed colors only, I find its not easy to get snap seeds by color, but a few firms do offer them, although not in the doubles. Hope this helps.

Swallowtail has them, too. I've been lusting for them, too, but haven't ordered them yet.

Karen

I am interested in how you root your snapdragon cuttings.
I have beautiful snaps but their tips are pretty fat and woody. Any help appreciated.

" You can't depend on the local nurseries to buy the really good seed when they can make more money growing and selling the less expensive varieties."

I usually just let comments like that pass by, but this one is so off-base I think it should be addressed. Most growers buy the best seed they can get their hands on because flowers are good for one thing and that is beauty. You don't save money by growing ugly or second rate flowers. Our commercial seed isn't 'cheap', but seed is the cheapest component of producing a finished flower. You are not going to even see a quiver in the profit margin from using bargain seeds.

What I will give you a head's up on is that floral varieties sold in the E.U. are usually available here as well, but often sold under a different name. So, if you order a variety you don't recognise the name on, it may the very one you grew last year with a different name.

That is a lovely picture, but by same token, you can expect most flowers photographed for advertising purposes to be exceptionally well grown and taken with the best possible angles and lighting. Whether they'll translate to your garden identically is not a guarantee.

Double azelea snapdragons can be purchased at swallowtailgardensseeds.com in USA. I live in Canada and they grow very well here. Below are my white and violet ones. Swallowtailgardensseeds.com carries white, yellow, peach, violet, and appleblossom( very light pink and white) and medium pink. Also can be purchased through stokeseeds.com. I have had good luck growing these and they bloom in Canada until the frost kills them off in November

Yes, the 'Twinny' snapdragons are very nice and many of the colors are rather outstanding !!

@Rachel: If you haven't done so, you might try leaving some of them in the ground over the winter. At my folk's place in northern lower Michigan there were snaps (regular type) I had planted that came back for three or four years running -- and they weren't reseeds either. Don't know if the fancy type might behave the same way.