They'll likely survive in (containers in) an unheated garage against the wall of the house. I grow dwarf varieties as bonsai & have some that are 4-5 years old. Those, I over-winter under lights in controlled humidity.

Al

Bonsai snapdragons ! I would love to see a picture !

Thanks for the advice.

They winter over here in Missouri, in the ground, with no mulch and get bigger each year. They are in glorious bloom right now!

C - I can't send photos through GW, but if you send me an e-mail, I'll send a photo of some plants in development.

Al

I just mulch mine with leaves and most over-winter in my zone 6. We have had very mild winters lately, but it does get well below freezing.

gld

Overwintering in the ground will depend on if you have a mild winter. In my zone, I usually have some that come back, that are in a protected location. I also let them set seed late in the season and get spontaneous plants that way: although they will be behind in growth to those that have been started from seed indoors.

I had really spectacular tall ones this year too. I'm thinking about gathering some seed and maybe starting it indoors myself to preserve this variety.

I overwinter snapdragons here, but I'm in Zone 7, and it's very dry in winter. Both the warmer zone and the dry seem to be essential to their survival.

Mine are practically evergreen all winter I don't do anything for them. We have had temps in the 20's and mine are still setting blooms.

I had one last year, about 2ft tallby winter, when I Ws'ed, still there, When Spring rolled around, still green and beginning to grow, by early summer it grew at least 4 ft tall until storms blew it down, and even then the new buds and leaves before original was shooting up. I was totally shocked since I understood it to be 'an annual'...

Just try whatever you might and see what happens... ;)

G_M

Only a few times, here in upstate NY, did I have a mild enough winter to have snaps return. I mulch them heavily with leaves each year, before the ground freezes (against the general rule). The ones that did winter over grew back huge, with 1" thick stems, like a shrub! They're perennials in warmer climates, tender perennials (treated like annuals) up here in NY. It's always worth a try each winter.

Snaps as perrenials in warm places! Weeell ya learn something every day! :-D

MI ain't that warm. ;-)

Al

tapla - truly enjoy the bonsai snaps - very cool!

Yes, MI is not exactly warm, even now. It's still forecasted to fall into the 30's in the morning, though this last week it's only been 40's when they've said that. Still, I was surprised to see some of my snaps and verbena bonariensis survived the winter, along with just about all of my pansies.

- Alex

Al, thank you for the fascinating picture, from the plant to the pot to the background. Lovely.

Glad you liked.

A geranium: