Howdy, vignewood, and welcome! Snaps are arguably my favorite flower. The seed pods turn a dark brown when they are dry - they usually don't dry all at once, either. If you are going to take individual pods as they dry, snip them off carefully at the base of the pod where they meet the stem. Otherwise, the whole stem might break, and the unripe pods won't have viable seeds (however, if that happens, your snapdragon may bloom again!)

You can also wait until most/all of the pods on the stem are brown and dry, and snap off the whole stem. The pods are pretty hard - if you have sensitive fingers, a good pair of needle-nosed pliers can help you crack them. Snapdragon seeds are tiny - amazing that they grow up into such beautiful plants!

Do you pull yours out of the ground?
I've had snapdragon's stay evergreen all winter in my zone 6 for me. The following spring they sport new growth from the base :D
Every one of my 'Black Prince' looked like this all winter....4 of which I completely cut back to the base and transplanted to a new location last August.
{{gwi:7092}}

Vera

Vera, I'm a hack gardener - I'm lucky if I get ANYTHING cleaned up in the fall (sigh - I keep trying, though). Snaps have come back for me only one year since I've been here. That's ok; now that I seem to have purchased and/or traded for every variety in the world, I should never be without them.

I noticed some pods when they turned brown had little holes in the top. I was able to shake the little seeds out of these without any extra effort. Others didn't form holes, so I just broke the top part off and shook the seeds out. I'm sure there are several ways to go about it. But definitely wait until the pods turn brown. The seeds look kind of like poppyseeds to me.

I will try trimming my snaps this fall instead of yanking them, and see if they come back next year. Many of mine are still blooming, after a trim earlier in the summer.

Hi Vera, Those pink flowers you show don't look at all like my snapdragons. Are they some special variety?

Vignewood, I think that's all foliage you see in Vera's shot - and it's a bit reddish in the exposure. Black Prince snap foliage is typically dark - I think Vera took the picture in the wintertime, when the snaps weren't blooming.

Drippy: You forgot to mention that the foliage on the black prince has a sort of burgundy cast to it all the time. In winter, at least, it might appear as a lighter red. (I hope you don't mind my butting in Drippy but I knew what you meant to say but thought I might make your thought a little more clear. Please forgive me)

In harvesting seeds, I approach it like mo girl. I wait until they open, usually a little hole forms at the top. I figure a few might be lost that way, but a lot are still held in the pod. Then I can usually easily chip open the pod with my fingernail.

Karen