Botanically, snapdragons (Antirrhinum majus) are short-lived perennials, but in cooler climates they are usually grown as annuals or biennials. With a mild winter and good care, they might survive to bloom again.

Regularly deadhead spent blooms to encourage new flowers and extend the blooming season. After flowering, you can cut the plant back by half to tidy it up or promote a second flush. In autumn, cut back completely if treating as an annual.

No, snapdragons are non-toxic to cats. They’re considered safe if your feline friend happens to nibble a leaf or flower.

As a cut flower:
Snapdragons as cut flowers are available in Polish florists mainly from May to October during their natural blooming season. They are not as widely stocked as roses, gerberas, or tulips — they are a more niche flower, found primarily in larger florists and online flower shops specialising in boho, rustic, and garden-style arrangements. If you need snapdragons for a wedding bouquet or a specific occasion, it is strongly recommended to order in advance — they are not a flower you will find in every local florist.

As a garden plant:
A completely different story. As a garden plant, the snapdragon is one of the most classic and widely available annual flowers in Poland. From April to June you will find it in virtually every garden centre, market stall, and supermarket garden section — in dozens of varieties, colours, and sizes. It is a flower that has been a staple of Polish home gardens, balconies, and window boxes for generations.

Snapdragons are tall, vertical flowers that bring height, movement, and a natural wildflower feel to arrangements. They work best in loose, garden-style bouquets alongside roses, peonies, lisianthus, and eucalyptus. Their strong vertical lines make them ideal for boho and rustic wedding arrangements, where they replace the more conventional delphinium. The 'Madame Butterfly' variety, with its azalea-like blooms, suits elegant and romantic wedding bouquets particularly well. Snapdragons also work beautifully in simple, monochromatic arrangements where a single colour variety is used to dramatic effect.

The name snapdragon comes from the flower's unique mechanism — when you gently squeeze the sides of the bloom, it opens and closes like a little mouth snapping shut. This gave rise to several colourful names in different languages: in English snapdragon and dragon flower, in Polish lwia paszcza (lion's mouth), and in other languages references to rabbits, puppets, and even calves. The Polish name lwia paszcza — literally "lion's jaws" — perfectly captures the flower's bold, dramatic character. In some languages it is also called bunny rabbit flower, as the opening bloom resembles a rabbit's face. It is one of the few flowers whose common name directly describes an interactive, playful feature.

Yes — wyżlin and lwia paszcza are exactly the same flower, just known by different names. Both are correct and used in Poland in parallel, though each has its own context and tradition.

Wyżlin większy (Antirrhinum majus) is the official botanical Polish name — used in gardening literature, botany textbooks, and on labels in garden centres. The name derives from the Greek antirrhinum — meaning "nose like an animal's snout" — and refers to the shape of the flower.

Lwia paszcza (literally "lion's jaws") is the popular, colloquial name used in everyday language — in florists, gardens, and conversation. It is more vivid and descriptive, directly referencing how the flower looks and behaves when squeezed.

In practice in Poland:

• In garden centres you are more likely to see the label wyżlin.
• In florists and bouquets the name lwia paszcza dominates.
• In everyday conversation Poles use both names interchangeably — and both are fully correct.