Snapdragons have come a long way in the past 100 years. Prior to the 1950s, the plants were mostly short, with stumpy stalks and muted flower colors.
There was nothing like the variety of heights and color variations available today.
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Now, the choices are extensive.
If you want a cultivar with strong, super tall stalks, you can have it. If you need something that can fill a hanging basket, there are options out there for you to try as well. Wish your flowers smelled more sweet and pungent? Modern snapdragons have you covered.
The bad news is that with all the options out there, it’s easy to become a little overwhelmed and just grab the first snapdragon plant you see at the nursery.
Next time you’re shopping for snapdragons, keep the following list handy. We’ll cover some of the best options – whether you’re a fan of pastels for your cottage garden or want some showy container plants.
Here’s what’s ahead:
23 Favorite Snapdragon Series and Cultivars
Before we jump in, it’s helpful to understand the different types of snapdragons. These plants are classified according to flower type, flowering time, as well as height and growth habit.
Our guide to snapdragon types will explain what the various terms mean, and help you figure out the differences.
Ready to see the line up? Here are some of the most noteworthy series and cultivars available for the home gardener:
1. Admiral
The Admiral series includes Group I single blossoms of crimson, white, yellow, purple, and pink bicolor, a combination of white and pink.
These bloom extremely early, so you can have vibrant blooms on three-foot stems before most plants are even waking up for the season.
Under ideal conditions, the stalks can reach four feet tall, though they will usually require staking for support.
2. Aroma
The Aroma series features plants bred for their particularly strong fragrance, as you’d probably expect.
This series features tall, summer (Group IV) types with single blossoms that are perfect for cutting thanks to their strong, upright stems.
‘Red Spice’ has bright red flowers, ‘French Vanilla’ has white ones, and ‘Fresh Lemon’ is, you guessed it, yellow. ‘Peach Breeze’ offers yellow, salmon, and bright pink multicolored blossoms. ‘Magenta Mist’ has an outstanding magenta hue.
3. Black Prince
‘Black Prince’ isn’t actually black in color. Instead, it has elegantly deep green leaves that start out purply-black when they’re young.
The plants are topped with startling, velvety, dark crimson and purple flowers in a color that you’d imagine the evil prince in a fairytale might have lining his cloak.
This is a summer, heirloom cultivar that grows up to 18 inches tall and features a somewhat arching growth habit with single blossoms.
You can find packets of seeds available from the Park Seed Store via Amazon.
4. Bright Butterflies
The Bright Butterflies mix features three-foot-tall spikes of double flowers in extremely vibrant colors.
Bright Butterflies won the All-America Selections award in the Flower category in 1966 and its fame is part of the reason why we refer to double flower plants as “butterfly” types today.
These iconic plants grow up to 24 inches tall with red, pink, purple, yellow, and white blooms. It’s a tall, Group III or IV type.
5. Calima
The Calima series was bred to grow in warmer areas during the summer and fall.
These tall, Group III and IV snapdragons reach up to 24 inches in height with pink, deep rose, ivory white, pure white, or yellow single flowers.
6. Candy Showers
The Candy Showers series stands out because it’s a weeping type that spills over the sides of the container in a beautiful shower of flowers.
It’s ideal for hanging baskets or trailing out of pots. Standing underneath one, you can imagine that you’re being drenched in blossoms.
This plant has a creeping growth habit, so you can also use it as a colorful ground cover that grows up to 10 inches tall. These cultivars can bloom during the spring or winter, and feature double blooms in orange, rose, and yellow.
7. Chantilly
Chantilly series snapdragons grow extremely tall. You can expect them to reach up to three feet, but they can even grow to four feet tall in ideal conditions.
The double flowers come in red, pink, orange, white, and yellow. This is a tall winter type with a particularly pungent, sweet scent.
8. Cinderella
Snapdragons in this series are the belles of the ball, with an extremely extended blooming time, producing stem after stem of colorful single flowers.
The stems are about 20 inches in length and these Group II blooms come in cream, yellow, gold, salmon, scarlet, and crimson.
Burpee carries mixed packs of 500 seeds so you can grow this fairytale flower at home.
9. Costa
This Group II series grows up to 36 inches on strong, straight stems.
The single flowers on ‘Silver’ are pale, silvery pink. You can also find apricot, rose, white, and ‘Velvet,’ which is burgundy.
You can find seeds for Costa ‘Sliver’ available from David’s Garden Seeds via Amazon.
10. Floral Showers
The Floral Showers series is made up of dwarf snapdragons with single, fragrant flowers in bronze, red, lilac, salmon, scarlet, rose, yellow, purple, and ivory white, as well as apricot, coral, lavender, wine, and red and yellow bicolors.
This Group II plant grows up to 10 inches tall.
You can find seeds for Floral Showers ‘Crimson’ in a variety of package sizes available at True Leaf Market.
11. Frosted Flames
The Frosted Flames series has beautiful, large, single flowers in rose, pink, crimson, red, yellow, cream, and bicolor mixes of these colors.
That’s not the best part, though. The 18-inch-tall spikes sit amidst dramatic cream and green variegated leaves.
This is a summer type, but you might want to provide a little afternoon shade if you live in a hot area because the leaves might scorch.
12. La Bella
The La Bella series is highly fragrant with white, bronze, pink, and yellow blooms on 18-inch spikes.
This lady is a Group II variety with double blooms.
13. Liberty
A tall summer type, the Liberty series sets you free to fill your home with spectacular cut flowers.
The stalks reach 24 to 30 inches tall with showy single blooms in bronze, crimson, lavender, rose, white, or yellow.
You can find 2,000 seeds in a mix of colors available from Isla’s Garden Seeds via Amazon.
14. Little Darling
Little Darling won the AAS Award in the Flower category in 1971, so you know this sweet flower is exceptional.
With single pink, crimson, salmon, red, yellow, bronze, and bicolor options, all on 18-inch stalks, you have lots of colors to choose from.
The stalks on these Group II plants are sturdy and straight, with flowers that are exceptionally long-blooming.
15. Lucky Lips
‘Lucky Lips’ lives up to its name.
The flowers are true white with vibrant magenta on the inside of petals, making it look as though the dragon’s mouth truly has lips.
16. Madame Butterfly
This pretty lady has double blossoms that are extremely large and ruffled.
This is a Group IV series that grows about three feet tall with blossoms in lavender, red, pink, purple, orange, yellow, and white.
Bring home Madame Butterfly in mixed packs of 50 seeds available from Burpee.
17. Magic Carpet
The Magic Carpet series will take you on a mystical ride as the dwarf, single flowers create a carpet of pink, purple, yellow, salmon, and pale purple (or a mix of all of these – why not?).
This is a spring type that grows about eight inches tall.
Create your own magic carpet by picking up a small packet, one-ounce, or quarter-pound package of mixed seeds at Eden Brothers.
18. Maximum
The Maximum series is perfectly named since you can get the maximum snapdragon effect with some of the tallest, brightest plants out there.
These summer types grow nearly four feet tall with single blossoms that are rose, orange, scarlet, red, pink, yellow, and white.
‘Orange Wonder,’ which is available in small packets, one-ounce, or quarter-pound packages at Eden Brothers, and from Botanical Interests, has salmon and orange blossoms that resemble a sweet sunset.
Alternatively, you can find a blend of red, white, yellow, and pink flowers available in packets of 2,400 seeds at Botanical Interests.
19. Night and Day
‘Night and Day’ is positively striking. The petals are as dark as night and as bright as the sunniest daylight all at once, with nearly black upper petals and a pure white lower jaw.
This single, spring type grows 18 inches tall and appeals not only to the eyes but the nose as well, with its spicy scent.
Enjoy this beauty all day long in your garden by grabbing a 100-milligram pack of seeds at Botanical Interests.
20. Potomac
The Potomac series features rose, yellow, white, red, orange, lavender, pink, or bicolored blossoms on three-foot-tall stems.
‘Appleblossom,’ in particular, is worth seeking out.
With a sweet, fruity scent and an adorable pastel color, ‘Appleblossom’ lets you bring the beauty of the blossoms you might see on an apple tree to your summer garden.
This cultivar features delicate white single flowers with a plum center.
This is a summer type that brings spring to mind.
You can grab a small packet, one-ounce, or quarter-pound package of seeds at Eden Brothers.
21. Rocket
The Rocket series of snapdragons is a group of tall summer types that grow up to three feet high.
The stalks are straight and thick, which makes them excellent for cutting. The single flowers come in red, pink, purple, white, and yellow.
You can find individual colors or a mix available in a variety of packet sizes from True Leaf Market.
22. Sonnet
Sonnet is an extremely popular series of tall, summer snapdragons that top out at 30 inches in height.
The single flowers are as pretty as a poem in shades of bronze, burgundy, carmine, crimson, pink, rose, white, and yellow.
You can find seeds for Sonnet mix available at True Leaf Market.
23. Topper
The Topper series is the crown jewel of the cottage garden, with 36-inch-tall spikes of crimson, salmon, yellow, and cream single flowers.
Pick up this summer-type plant in mixed packs of 100 seeds at Burpee.
Snapdragons Make Your Garden Sparkle
Honestly, it’s hard to go wrong with any snapdragon you might choose. Most of the cultivars and series that you commonly find these days have been refined into stellar stars for your garden.
But knowing a few standouts can help you choose your favorites. Which option do you plan on adding to your garden? Let us know in the comments section below!
And for more information about snapdragons, have a read of these guides next:
I’ll be trying dwarf snapdragons for the first time next spring in my front garden as a border, looking forward to it…why do the have so many seeds in each packet? Do some of them not germinate?
Hi Jan, snapdragons germinate pretty well so long as you give them the conditions they need. I have better luck starting them indoors and moving them outside, but either way, they are one of the easier flowers to start from seed. We have a guide to walk you through the process if you’d like some tips!
What’s happen to this snap dragon!
Hi Ben, how fascinating! Flower distortion can be caused by a number of things, usually fasciation or herbicide damage. Fasciation can be the result of hormal changes driven by damage from an injury or infection. Is the unusual growth on one plant? Or several?