Learn How to Grow and Care for Foxglove (2024)

Foxglove Care

Here are the basic care requirements for the common foxglove:

• Choose a full sun to partial shade spot for foxglove plants.
• Space foxglove plants 2 feet apart in slightly acidic, moist, but well-draining soil.
• Stake foxgloves to keep them upright.
• Fertilize foxgloves only if the plants are growing in poor soil.
• Pull scraggly common foxglove plants after flowering is complete.

Planting

Buy foxglove plants in nursery pots to ensure immediate blooms or wait a full year if planting from seed. Space foxglove plants about 2 feet apart. Stake the taller types to prevent them from flopping over.

Light

Grow foxglove plants in a full sun to partial shade location. Tailorthe amount of sunshine you give this biennial to your climate. If you live in the south, give it some shade, as full sun will be too hot for the plants. In the north, it will thrive in full sun, though some shade is tolerated.

Soil

Foxgloves like rich, well-draining soil that's slightly acidic, with a pH of 5.5 to 6.5.

Water

Foxglove is susceptible to crown rot, so provide it with good drainage. Keep the soil moist, but not soaked. If there is a dry period in the summer and it hasn't received 1 inch of rain in a week or the top 2 inches of soil is dry, water the plant thoroughly with a drip hose. Avoid overhead watering, which can encourage fungal disease.

Temperature and Humidity

Foxgloves tend to do better in cooler temperatures and may wilt in temperatures over 90°F. Planted seeds will germinate when temperatures reach between 70 and 80°F.

Foxgloves are not fussy about humidity, though excessive humidity may encourage some fungal diseases. Provide goodair circulation by giving them sufficient spacing.

Fertilizer

A 1-inch layer of well-decomposed mulch usually provides sufficient nutrients for foxgloves. In good soil, fertilizer is rarely essential and excess nitrogen can actually harm the flower growth.

However, if your soil is very poor, you can add a small handful of slow-release 5-10-5 fertilizer in the early spring. Scatter it around the plant and then water over the fertilizer to help it settle. Avoid having the fertilizer touch the foliage, as it may burn the plant.

Foxglove Types

Several biennial, perennial, and shrub species in the Digitalis genus carry the common name foxglove. The most popular plant grown in the garden is the common foxglove—Digitalis purpurea. Common foxglove has several popular cultivars:

• 'Goldcrest': Yellowy-peach flowers bloom amid lance-shaped dark green leaves.
• 'Candy Mountain': This foxglove boasts bright, rosy-pink flowers. This variety faces upwards rather than nodding down.
• ‘Pam’s Choice’: This cultivar has white flowers with burgundy throats.
• ‘Rose Shades’: The two-toned flowers feature rose and white blossom spikes.
• 'Foxy': This shorter cultivar (27 inches) has purple, white, and pink flowers and often blooms in its first year.
• 'Camelot': Bred to bloom fairly reliably in its first year, it produces cream, lavender, rose, and white flowers on 28- to 40-inch stems.
• 'Excelsior group': This is a popular group of 4- to 6-foot tall hybrids in several colors. They are best for zones 5 to 9.

There are also some hybrid foxgloves to consider:

• Digitalis×mertonensis (Merten's foxglove, strawberry foxglove): This hybrid is a cross betweenD. purpureaandD. grandiflora, producing a short-lived perennial species (three to four years) with pink flowers.
• Digiplexis: This is a short-lived perennial hybrid ofD. purpureaandIsoplexis canariensis, the Canary Island foxglove. Its flowers are purplish-pink on the outside, with yellow throats and burgundy spotting on the inside.
  

Pruning

Deadheading the early flower spikes after the blooms have faded often results in a second, lesser flowering period. However, if you wish for the plants to self-seed in the garden, leave some flower spikes in place to cast their seeds.

Propagating Foxglove

Foxgloves are generally propagated from seeds collected from the flower heads after the blooms have faded. Foxglove seeds mature on the stalk and are ready to harvest by mid to late summer. Make sure to do it before the seed capsules have burst and spread the seed around the garden.

1. In mid to late summer, look for the browned seed capsules on the central flower spike of the foxglove plant, Find them at the base of the flower blossoms.
2. Wearing gloves, remove the seed capsules and shake them upside down into a paper bag or envelope. The tiny seeds should be visible. Store the seeds in a dry location until planting time.
3. Pull and discard the plant, as it will not bloom again (unless you have a perennial species). Always wear gloves when handling a foxglove plant.
   
4. Start seeds indoors about eight to 10 weeks before the last frost. Fill trays or small containers with a seed-starter mix, then dampen the mix.
5. Thinly scatter seeds across the top of the dampened seed starter mix, and cover with a thin layer of vermiculite.
6. Set the tray or pots in a sheltered area with plenty of light at 59°F to 68°F. Check regularly and mist the soil if it becomes dry. In 14 to 21 days, seedlings should sprout.
7. Continue growing the seedlings in a bright location, thinning them out as needed. Keep the seedlings evenly moist, but not wet.
8. Plant the seedlings outdoors when all danger of frost has passed. As with any indoor seedlings, harden them off for a week or so before planting outdoors.
   

Overwintering

First-year plants that have not bloomed should be covered with a thick layer of dried leaves or mulch after the ground freezes in late fall or early winter to moderate soil temperatures over the winter. Remove mulch promptly in the spring to avoid crown rot.

Common Pests & Plant Diseases

Common foxglove can be prone to attack from insect pests including aphids, mealybugs, slugs, and Japanese beetles. Handle mild infestations with predatory insects. Treat critical infestations with insecticidal soaps or chemical spray pesticides.

Foxglove can also be affected by funguses, such as powdery mildew, verticillium wilt, and leaf spot. Minimize these problems by giving the plants good air circulation and planting them in well-draining soil. Treat seriously affected plants with spray fungicides.

Crown rot can be a problem, sometimes caused by white fungal spores or dense, poorly draining soils. Badly affected plants will need to be discarded.

How to Get Foxglove to Bloom

Bloom Months

Foxglove is a fast-growing plant that generally flowers in its second season before dying. In its first year, the plant produces only a basal clump of foliage, but in its second year, the plant blooms.

What do Foxglove Flowers Look and Smell Like?

Common foxgloves send forth 2- to 5-foot tall stalks lined with beautiful funnel-shaped pink, white, or purple flowers with white or purple spots lining the throats. Flowers have a very subtle and delicate scent.

How to Encourage More Blooms

Foxgloves are biennial plants that generally do not bloom until the second year. Be patient; your plant may bloom the following spring. To ensure blooms, foxgloves require a few hours of sun a day and at least 1 inch of water per week. Do not give fertilizer to foxglove plants unless the soil is very poor.

Common Problems With Foxglove

Foxglove is a fairly easy plant to grow, but a couple of common problems are worth mentioning:

Plants Have No Flower Spikes

While most nursery plants are grown so they are ready to flower in your garden, it's possible you purchased plants in their first year of growth. If your plant produces just a basal rosette of leaves, leave it in place until the next year; there's a good chance it will flower in its second year of growth. This is also normal for foxgloves grown by seeds—they won't flower until their second year.

Less commonly, a biennial foxglove that's already flowered will return in weak form for a third season. They usually do not flower and can be pulled and discarded. True perennial foxglove species, however, should be left in place.

Plants Look Shabby as Summer Progresses

It's normal for foxglove flower stalks to look unkempt in the summer heat. Clip the flower stalks down to the basal rosette (save the seeds, if you wish). This may stimulate the plant to produce a second flush of flowers as the weather cools in early fall. Or, pull the entire plant from the ground once flowering is complete. Remove only the second-year plants that have completed their flowering cycle.