How to Grow Foxgloves

by Three Dogs in a Garden

How to grow these beautiful flowers from seed.

how to grow foxgloves, flowers, gardening, how to

I started growing foxgloves from seed a few years ago and now can't imagine my garden without them!

Foxgloves (Digitalis purpurea) are biennial plants. In the first year you sow the seeds. That first summer the plant produces a root system and a rosette of green leaves.

In their second year foxgloves produce those tall, stately flowers.

Then they set seed and finish their life cycle.

Foxgloves are edge-of-woodland plants that like part shade and rich, well drained soil. They are hardy in gardening zones 4-10.

You can find foxglove plants growing in pots at your local nursery, but the most cost effective way to grow them, is to grow them yourself from seed.

Start Foxglove from seed from mid-May to as late as mid-july.

Usually I sow my foxgloves in a nursery bed in June. I plant them in a similar way that you might grow vegetables:in a drill. Then in late summer/early fall I move the young foxglove plants into their final positions in the main garden where they will flower the following summer.

(Note: If you don't have a nursery bed for growing seedlings, you can start you seeds in a seed tray.)

If you are sowing Foxglove seeds in the garden, begin by preparing the soil. Turn your soil over and amend it with some compost. Rake it even.

Foxgloves seeds need light to germinate so don't bury them! Instead scatter the tiny seeds as evenly as you can over the surface of the soil. Gently rake the seeds in, but be careful not to cover them with soil. Finally, water them with a very,very gentle spray. Foxglove seeds will take 20 to 30 days to germinate.

Thin your seedlings as you would a vegetable crop like carrots. You'll have foxgloves, but they will be healthier and stronger plants.

In the second year, your foxgloves will produce flowers and trust me, they are well worth the wait.

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3 of 11 comments

WHHooks on May 01, 2015
Carol Borba- I live in NE California, and I have these guys growing like crazy.....no trees in my yard, unfortunately :( But, my point is, give it a try, never hurts Good Luck!

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- Three Dogs in a Garden on May 02, 2015
  @WHHooks When I said that they were edge-of-woodland plants, I was more referring to their wild place of origin, because it often offers a clue as to what they prefer in terms of growing conditions. The ones in my garden aren't growing in a woodland either. Mine get a bit of light afternoon shade from a nearby maple. I am curious, are yours in full sun? Do they self-seed or do you grow them from seed?
  
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Sheila Conlon on May 02, 2015
Fabulous

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