How to Grow Foxglove (Digitalis)

About Growing Foxglove in Your Home Flower Garden

Now here is an old garden gem. Foxglove plants, also called Digitalis, has spikes of distinctive, freckle-throated bells that stud the flower stems. They provide a graceful, stately look in a partly shady garden. They are at home in the woodland or native garden and look well in the back of the home garden. If you’ve never tried grown Foxglove before, There’s no better time to start than this season. Use this guide to learn “How to Grow Foxglove Perennial Flowers”. Then, get growing Foxglove flowers.

They are natives of Europe, Western Asia, and Northern Africa.

Caution: All parts of Foxglove plants are very poisonous. If you have children or pets, you might want to steer clear of this flower. The poisonous substance in the leaves is called Digitalis. You may recognize this as a chemical sometimes used in the treatment of heart disease.

Foxglove Plant Specifications

Flower Colors: Foxglove blooms include various shades of shell pink, purple, red, rose, cream, and white, with contrasting freckles.

Flowers Bloom: Min-summer

Plant Height: 2 to 5 feet tall.

Light Requirements: Full sunlight, partial sun or partial shade to partial shade.

Ideal Soil pH: 6.0 – 7.5.

Hardiness Zone: 4 – 10.

Toxicity: This plant is toxic to people, pets, and farm animals.

Deer Resistant?: Yes, due to toxicity.

Native To: Europe and Northern Africa.

Plant Type: Biennial and a few perennials.

Botanical Name: Digitalis

Other Names: Lady’s Glove, Purple Digitalis, Rusty Foxglove.

Are Foxglove Plants Edible

NO!!!

All parts of biennial foxglove plants are highly toxic. Keep humans, pets, and farm animals away from this plant.

If you have small children, we recommend you do not grow this plant.

Medicinal Applications for Foxglove Plants

While we know this is a highly toxic plant, it has a variety of medicinal applications Among them are:

Properly prepared and used the chemical digitalis treats heart diseases, including congestive heart failure, irregular heartbeat, atrial fibrillation, and heart flutters.
Provides asthma relief.
Treats epilepsy.
Eases headaches.
Relieves constipation.
It induces vomiting.
Detoxifiction.

Light Requirements

Foxglove plants grow best in full sunlight. However, it also grows well in partial sunlight or partial shade. The plant does not grow in full shade.

In hotter regions of the country, the plant will do better with a little afternoon shade.

This plant thrives in natural settings in large meadows and fields.

Foxglove Plant Propagation

Foxglove is started from seed. Sow Foxglove seed directly into your flower garden after all danger of frost. They can also be spread around fields as a wildflower.

Sow seeds early in the season and cover lightly with 1/8″ of garden soil. Give them plenty of room. the Final spacing should be 24″. We recommend sowing a few seeds every 24″, marking the position. Then, thin the seedlings to one after they have sprouted and grown an inch or two.

Days to Germination: 14 to 21 days.

How to Grow Perennial Foxglove Flower Plants

Foxglove plants like full sun to partial shade. Fast-growing Foxglove will reach a height of 2 to 5 feet, depending upon the variety you have selected for your yard or woodlands area.

Foxglove will do well in average soils and cool weather. The soil needs to be kept moist to feed their quick growth. However, avoid planting them in areas where the soil can be wet or soggy for prolonged periods. Water them during dry periods, once or twice per week.

Adding a general-purpose fertilizer once a month will result in bigger, fuller blooms.

Keep young plants well-weeded. After they have grown several inches, apply a thick layer of mulch to help keep weeds down and for a neat and tidy appearance.

Cut blooms just before they reach their peak. Place them in a vase and arrange them with other flowers, or alone by themselves.

Foxglove flowers are good re-seeders. So, they should be planted in a location where they can grow undisturbed for years. After the blooms have died, do not cut the flowers off. The dead flowers will drop seeds for next year’s growth.

Growing Foxglove Flowers in Containers and Flowerpots

You can grow foxglove in containers or flowerpots on your patio or deck. Again, remember this is a highly toxic plant. So, if you have children or pets, this might not be a wise choice. Like other container plants, they require a little extra attention than when planted in the ground.

The largest varieties of foxglove can grow up to five feet tall. So, select shorter varieties to grow on your patio or deck.
Select large flowerpots for these big plants, and especially for taller varieties.
Use flowerpots or containers with drain holes in the bottom. This allows excess water to drain so the roots will not rot.
Keep an eye on the moisture level. Check the plants every day or two, especially in extended periods of hot, dry weather. Keep the soil moist, but not wet. It is okay to let the top of the soil begin to dry between watering. When watering the plants, thoroughly wet the soil. Excess water will drain through the hole in the bottom of the flowerpot.
Nutrients in a flowerpot are limited. So, use fertilizer spikes to feed the plants. Or, apply a light solution of liquid fertilizer every 2 – 4 weeks.
Select a sunny or partly sunny location on your deck. The plants tolerate light shade, too.
Keep them well-trimmed. They are more visible on a patio or deck. So, you want them to look their best.

Pruning Foxglove Plants

Foxglove plants require little or no pruning.

If you want to gather some of the seeds, or allow the plant to re-seed the area, do not remove spent blooms. Otherwise, deadhead the spent blooms. Then with a little luck, you might get a second, smaller set of blooms late in the season.

Insects, Disease, and Plant Problems

Insects and disease problems are not a major problem. However, aphids, mealy bugs, slugs, and Japanese beetles occasionally infest the plants. If problems occur, treat early with organic or chemical insect repellents and fungicides as appropriate.

Also, the plants is susceptible to crown rot in prolonged periods of wet soil.

If the plants fail to bloom the most likely cause is too little sunlight. Too much fertilizer can be another cause.

Also see Plant Problems – Identify the causes and find the cures.

Overwintering Biennial Foxglove Plants

After frost has killed first-year plants, cut it back to the ground. Then, apply a thick layer of mulch to protect the roots from hard ground freezes over the winter.

In early spring, rake off the excess mulch. This helps to avoid crown rot in wet, spring weather.