Snapdragon
Antirrhinum majus
The classic cottage-garden snapdragon — named for its hinged, two-lipped "dragon-mouth" blooms that snap open when pinched at the sides. A tender perennial native to southwestern Europe, hardy in USDA Zones 7-10 but grown almost everywhere as a cool-season annual, carrying tall spikes of white, yellow, pink, red, orange, peach, or purple flowers from spring to frost. Hummingbirds and butterflies work the blooms, and the cut spikes are a cutting-garden staple.
Climate fit: moderate (43/100)
Border
Container
Pollinator
Light
Full sun
Water
Moderate water
Mature size
12-36" tall · 9" apart
Hardy in zones
7a-10b
cold to mild winters
AHS heat range
1-9
Plant range authored in AHS heat-zone terms.
Native in Illinois
No
A documented larval host for the Common buckeye — caterpillars feed on its foliage before becoming the next generation.
Cold hardiness
These values are location-based: this location's current hardiness is the baseline, and the 2050 value is a projected future climate for this same location.
Now
Zone 6b
Plotwright
USDA Zone 6b
-5°F to 0°F
Won't grow here
Zone 7a
Plotwright
0°F to 5°F
Marginal
In plain terms: This location has cold winters. Its winters are projected to keep warming through 2050.
✕→⚠
Out of range today, but marginally possible by 2050.
Heat tolerance
Heat tolerance values are location-based too: heat days today are observed at this site, and the 2050 value projects this same location under a future climate.
Loading AHS heat-zone data for this location...
Where this plant fits
Suitable across 43 ecoregions — 40 climate-resilient through 2070 · 3 newly possible by 2070. Best matches first.
Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests
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Appalachian-Blue Ridge forests
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Arizona Mountains forests
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Atlantic coastal pine barrens
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Blue Mountains forests
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California coastal sage and chaparral
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Canadian Aspen forests and parklands
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Central Pacific Northwest coastal forests
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Central Tallgrass prairie
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Central-Southern Cascades Forests
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Plant this, not that
Better fit for this place
For Chicago, IL, these are replacement suggestions: similar plants with a stronger hardiness fit now and/or in 2050.
Hylotelephium 'Herbstfreude'
Autumn-joy stonecrop
A clump-forming herbaceous perennial grown for its showy late-season flower heads: masses of tiny star-like flowers borne in flattened cymes 3-6 inches across that emerge rosy pink, deepen to rose-red, and fade to coppery-rust as they die. Gray-green, fleshy, succulent-like leaves form upright clumps to about 2 feet. Easily grown in dry-to-medium, well-drained soil in full sun, it is drought tolerant and attracts butterflies, and its foliage and dead inflorescences persist into winter for added interest.
Better fit now and in 2050
Now: well-suited
2050: well-suited
Chrysanthemum x morifolium
Garden mum
The classic fall-flowering "garden mum" — a compact, clump-forming herbaceous perennial in the daisy family, grown for a prolific late-season flush of showy flowers from September to frost in shades of white, yellow, orange, bronze, purple, and red. A complex hybrid of five Chinese species, not native to North America; widely sold as a one-season annual but hardy in the ground roughly zones 5-9. Deer- and rabbit-resistant, and a welcome late-season nectar source when little else is blooming.
Better fit now and in 2050
Now: well-suited
2050: well-suited
Leucanthemum × superbum
Shasta daisy
The classic white-and-yellow garden daisy — a clump-forming herbaceous perennial bearing showy single flower heads of white ray florets around a yellow central disc from midsummer into fall. A garden hybrid bred by Luther Burbank in the 1890s near snow-covered Mt. Shasta in northern California, it grows 2-3 feet tall and is a mainstay of the perennial border, cottage garden, and cutting garden. Easily grown in dry-to-medium, well-drained soil in full sun, it is drought tolerant, attracts butterflies, and is resistant to deer and rabbit browsing.
Better fit now and in 2050
Now: well-suited
2050: well-suited
Dianthus caryophyllus
Carnation
The classic clove-scented carnation, a short-lived evergreen perennial in the pink family grown for centuries for its frilled, spice-fragrant double flowers and tidy mounds of narrow blue-gray foliage. Native to the Mediterranean region, it thrives in full sun and lean, sharply drained, neutral-to-alkaline soil with steady but never soggy moisture, and is hardy in USDA zones 6a-9b. It is the florist's carnation and the parent of countless border and perpetual-flowering strains, prized as much for cutting as for the garden.
Better fit now and in 2050
Now: well-suited
2050: well-suited
Similar plants
Browse lateral options with similar roles, light needs, size, or native-range overlap; these are not filtered for a better climate fit.
Hylotelephium 'Herbstfreude'
Autumn-joy stonecrop
A clump-forming herbaceous perennial grown for its showy late-season flower heads: masses of tiny star-like flowers borne in flattened cymes 3-6 inches across that emerge rosy pink, deepen to rose-red, and fade to coppery-rust as they die. Gray-green, fleshy, succulent-like leaves form upright clumps to about 2 feet. Easily grown in dry-to-medium, well-drained soil in full sun, it is drought tolerant and attracts butterflies, and its foliage and dead inflorescences persist into winter for added interest.
Dianthus caryophyllus
Carnation
The classic clove-scented carnation, a short-lived evergreen perennial in the pink family grown for centuries for its frilled, spice-fragrant double flowers and tidy mounds of narrow blue-gray foliage. Native to the Mediterranean region, it thrives in full sun and lean, sharply drained, neutral-to-alkaline soil with steady but never soggy moisture, and is hardy in USDA zones 6a-9b. It is the florist's carnation and the parent of countless border and perpetual-flowering strains, prized as much for cutting as for the garden.
Dahlia (hybrid)
Dahlia
A tuberous-rooted member of the aster family native to Mexico and Central America, grown for showy summer-to-fall blooms in nearly every color except blue. Hybrids in commerce span ten flower-form groups (single, anemone, collarette, waterlily, decorative, fall, pompon, cactus, semi-cactus, and miscellaneous) and range from 1 to 6 feet tall. Winter-hardy only to USDA Zones 7-10; in colder regions the tubers are lifted in fall and stored frost-free, so most North American gardeners grow it as a summer annual.
Chrysanthemum x morifolium
Garden mum
The classic fall-flowering "garden mum" — a compact, clump-forming herbaceous perennial in the daisy family, grown for a prolific late-season flush of showy flowers from September to frost in shades of white, yellow, orange, bronze, purple, and red. A complex hybrid of five Chinese species, not native to North America; widely sold as a one-season annual but hardy in the ground roughly zones 5-9. Deer- and rabbit-resistant, and a welcome late-season nectar source when little else is blooming.
Leucanthemum × superbum
Shasta daisy
The classic white-and-yellow garden daisy — a clump-forming herbaceous perennial bearing showy single flower heads of white ray florets around a yellow central disc from midsummer into fall. A garden hybrid bred by Luther Burbank in the 1890s near snow-covered Mt. Shasta in northern California, it grows 2-3 feet tall and is a mainstay of the perennial border, cottage garden, and cutting garden. Easily grown in dry-to-medium, well-drained soil in full sun, it is drought tolerant, attracts butterflies, and is resistant to deer and rabbit browsing.
Narcissus (hybrid)
Daffodil
The mainstay bulb of the spring garden — a hardy, fall-planted perennial from Europe and North Africa whose flowers rise on leafless stems above strap-shaped foliage. Each bloom shows six petals (the perianth) ringing a central trumpet or cup (the corona) in white, yellow, orange, pink, or bicolor. Almost pest-free and reliably deer- and rabbit-resistant thanks to toxic alkaloids in every part of the plant.
Sources & citations
Cite this page
For lesson plans, articles, or research that uses this page. To cite a single upstream fact instead, use its specific source listed below.
Plotwright. (2026, May 17). Snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus). Retrieved 2026, June 24, from https://plotwright.com/plants/antirrhinum-majus
Sources for every fact
Every fact on this page traces to a source. 18 fields cited - 18 source-backed.
Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder
Botanical research database
Backs 17 fields
Identity
Summary
Plant type
Light
Moisture
Hardiness
Heat zone
Size
Spacing
Habit
Design roles
Seasonal interest
Growth stages
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