Bountiful Gardens

Angelonia: The Unstoppable Summer Snapdragon

Angelonia, commonly known as Summer Snapdragon, is a stunning and resilient annual that provides a constant supply of color and graceful vertical structure throughout the hottest months of the year. While it shares a common name with true snapdragons, it is an entirely different plant that thrives in the heat that causes spring snapdragons to fade. Angelonia produces numerous slender, upright spikes crowded with delicate, orchid-like flowers. Its glossy, deep green leaves often have a faint, pleasant scent, sometimes described as apple-like, when touched. Available in rich shades of deep purple, lavender, pink, mauve, white, and bicolors, Angelonia is the perfect "thriller" for adding height and elegance to any sunny spot.  Angelonia is exceptionally easy to grow. Its self-sufficient nature makes it a perfect choice for gardeners who want maximum impact with minimal effort. It is a true "plant it and enjoy it" flower that rewards you with constant color all summer long.

Why Angelonia is a Summer Essential

Angelonia has become an indispensable plant for summer gardens and containers, prized for its beauty and nearly indestructible nature.

Thrives in Heat and Humidity: This is Angelonia's superpower. It loves the hot, humid conditions of a mid-Atlantic summer, blooming profusely when many other plants struggle.

Continuous, Self-Cleaning Blooms: Angelonia blooms non-stop from late spring until the first frost without ever needing to be deadheaded. The old flowers simply drop away as new ones form.

Excellent Vertical Accent: Its upright, spiky form provides a wonderful "thriller" element in container arrangements and adds valuable height and texture to garden beds.

Deer and Rabbit Resistant: The foliage is not palatable to deer or rabbits, making it a reliable choice for gardens prone to these four-legged visitors.

Great Cut Flower: The long, elegant stems last beautifully in a vase, making them a wonderful addition to summer bouquets.

When to Plant:

As a true heat-lover, Angelonia should be planted when the weather is consistently warm and all danger of frost has passed. The ideal time to plant  is from late May through June, once the soil has warmed up significantly.

All summer is an absolutely perfect time to add this plant to your garden. We always have large, beautiful plants that will provide immediate impact and will continue to thrive and bloom vigorously through the rest of the summer and deep into the autumn.

Growing Instructions:

Sunlight: Angelonia demands full, hot sun. Plant it in a location that receives at least 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight per day.

Soil: It requires fertile, well-draining soil. It does not tolerate being in constantly soggy or waterlogged conditions.

Watering: While it is quite drought-tolerant once established, Angelonia performs best with consistent moisture. Water when the top inch of soil feels dry. It is forgiving if you miss a watering.

Care and Maintenance: No deadheading is necessary. To keep plants in containers blooming their best, you can feed them with a balanced, all-purpose liquid fertilizer every few weeks, but this is less critical for in-ground plants.

A Modern Star from the Americas

Angelonia is native to the warm climates of Mexico and the West Indies. While it has been known to botanists for a long time, it is a relative newcomer to mainstream ornamental gardens. Its rise to stardom began in the 1990s and early 2000s when plant breeders began developing the compact, well-branched, and continuously blooming varieties that we know and love today. Before this, older varieties were often lankier and less floriferous. The modern Angelonia, like the popular 'Serena' or 'Archangel' series, are testaments to horticultural innovation, providing a tough, beautiful, and reliable plant that has quickly become a modern classic and a staple of the summer garden.