Antirrhinum Black Prince

A snapdragon dark enough to read almost black in low light. The flowers are a deep crimson with a velvet finish, and the foliage behind them is bronze-purple, so the whole plant is dark from the ground up. That colouring is what separates it from every other red snapdragon.

It is an old variety and it behaves like one. Growth is slower and less uniform than the modern F1 bedding types, and plants vary a little around 45cm, which reads as character in a border and as a nuisance in formal bedding.

For cutting, take the stems when the bottom third of the spike is open. Dark flowers are easily lost against soil or a dark fence, so give it something pale to stand in front of. Half-hardy, so it will not take a frost. Hold the plants back until the nights are reliably above freezing.