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Where to plant foxglove


How to Grow Foxgloves | BBC Gardeners World Magazine

Foxgloves are popular in cottage garden planting schemes, loved for their spires of bell-shaped, bee-friendly tubular pink flowers with a spotted centre. Most foxgloves are biennial, meaning they put on root and foliage growth in year one, and then flower and set seed in year two, before dying. However some varieties of foxglove are perennial.

Bear in mind that all parts of foxgloves are poisonous, and can kill an adult human if any part of the plant is ingested. You may want to avoid growing them if you have pets prone to eating garden plants.

How to grow foxgloves

Grow foxgloves in moist but well-drained soil in full sun to full shade – some varieties are more shade tolerant than others. Deadhead spent blooms after flowering to encourage a second flush, or let them self seed over the garden. Biennial types can be dug up after they have set seed, but perennial foxgloves should be cut back for autumn, ready to bloom again the following year.

More on growing foxgloves:

Find more detailed advice on growing foxgloves, below.

Where to plant foxgloves

How to grow foxgloves - where to grow foxgloves

Most foxgloves thrive in dappled shade. Their preferred native habitat is a woodland clearing or at the foot of a native hedge. However some species, such as Digitalis parviflora and Digitalis obscura, require full sun to grow well. Foxgloves will grow in any soil type but do best in a well-drained, moist soil. Avoid planting foxgloves in very wet or very dry soil.

As our native foxglove, Digitalis purpurea, is biennial, you might not get flowers the same year you plant the plants. What's more, if you want your foxgloves to self-seed around the garden and flower every year, you will need to plant foxgloves two years in a row.

How to plant foxgloves

How to grow foxgloves - how to plant foxgloves

Plant foxgloves in spring or autumn, directly into the garden. Water in well.

Watch Monty Don demonstrate how to plant foxgloves, in this clip from Gardeners' World:

How to grow foxgloves from seed

How to grow foxgloves - how to sow foxglove seed

Foxgloves self-seed readily in the garden. All you need to do to ensure foxgloves disperse their seed is to avoid deadheading the flowers until seeds have developed and ripened. You can then either collect fresh seed and scatter it directly where you want foxgloves to grow. Alternatively, sow seed finely in a tray of seed compost - don't cover the seed, but instead place a propagator lid or sheet of glass over the tray. Seedlings grown in trays should be overwintered in a cold frame, before planting out in spring.

How to care for foxgloves

How to grow foxgloves - how to look after foxgloves

Foxgloves require very little care, and will flower and seed without any intervention from the gardener.

Discover three golden rules of caring for foxgloves, in our video:

Growing foxgloves: problem solving

How to grow foxgloves - problem solving

Foxgloves are trouble-free plants. You may need to protect young plants from slugs and snails. The caterpillars of some moths eat foxglove leaves and flowers, but these caterpillars are food for baby birds in spring, so it's best to leave them be.

More like this

By midsummer, foxgloves have finished flowering and can look unsightly. Here, Monty Don explains how to clear your borders of foxgloves to make room for other plants:

Foxglove varieties to grow

How to grow foxgloves – Digitalis grandiflora

How to Grow and Care for Common Foxglove

Within the Digitalis genus, there are several biennial, perennial, and shrub species that all carry the common name foxglove, but the one most popular as a garden plant is the common foxglove—Digitalis purpurea. Common foxglove is a uniquely eye-catching plant, a tall, slender specimen with tubular blooms, often with colorful speckles. It 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 sends 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.

Many gardeners purchase common foxgloves as second-year potted nursery plants to ensure flowering, but it is also possible to start them from seeds. Planted from seeds, the plants usually don't flower until their second year, but foxgloves freely self-seed, creating a sustained patch that produces flowers every year. There are also some cultivars that are bred to bloom in their first year from seed, though this doesn't always hold true.

Be aware that foxglove is a seriously toxic flower, both to humans and to pets. The flowers, seeds, stems, and leaves all contain chemicals that can affect the heart.

Common Name Foxglove, common foxglove
Botanical Name Digitalis purpurea
Family Plantaginaceae
Plant Type Biennial
Mature Size 2—5 feet tall, 1—2 feet wide
Sun Exposure Full, partial
Soil Type Well-draining, loamy soil
Soil pH Slightly acidic (5. 5—6.5)
Bloom Time Early summer (late spring in warm zones)
Flower Color Pink, purple, red, white, yellow
Hardiness Zones 4-10 (USDA)
Native Area Europe and Northwest Africa
Toxicity Toxic to humans and pets

Click Play to Learn How to Grow and Care for Foxglove

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Foxglove Care

Common foxglove is considered a biennial flower, so to ensure first season blooms, they should be planted from potted nursery plants that are already in their second year of growth. Some nursery plants are grown from cultivars that are designed to flower in their first year. In any case, the best way to ensure first-year flowers is to buy nursery plants.

If you choose to plant from seeds (a much more economical approach), be prepared for the plants to take a full year to get established before flowering in their second season. While some seed varieties are bred for first-season blooms, this can be a hit-or-miss proposition.

Foxgloves are fairly easy plants to grow in moist, rich soil in full sun to partial shade. Foxgloves come in different sizes and should be spaced accordingly, but as a general rule, it is good to space them about 2 feet apart. Stake the taller types to prevent them from flopping over in a wind storm. They can become somewhat scraggly after flowering is complete, so the plants are often pulled from the garden at this point—or immediately after the seeds have scattered themselves in the garden.

Light

Grow foxglove plants in a full sun to partial shade location. Tailor the 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 degrees Fahrenheit. Planted seeds will germinate when temperatures reach between 70 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit.

Foxgloves are not fussy about humidity, though excessive humidity may encourage some fungal diseases. Provide good air 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 Varieties

Common foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) has several popular cultivars:

There are also some hybrid foxgloves to consider:

Pruning

As a general rule, 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, then 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. Foxgloves 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 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, These will be 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. The foxglove plant can now be pulled and discarded, as it will not bloom again (unless you have a perennial species). Again, wear gloves when handling a foxglove plant.
  4. To start seeds indoors: About 8 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 a temperature of 59 to 68 degrees Fahrenheit. Check regularly and mist the soil if it becomes dry. In 14 to 21 days, seedlings should sprout.
  7. Continue to grow 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

Common foxgloves can be pulled up and discarded after blooming ends in late summer, as they generally do not return again. First-year plants that have not bloomed, however, 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. Make sure to remove the mulch promptly in the spring to avoid crown rot.

If you wish, you can leave a few old plants in place to allow them to self-seed in the garden. In the spring, these older plants should be pulled out and discarded, as they won't bloom again.

Caution: Wear gloves when handling foxgloves, as it is possible to absorb small amounts of toxins through the skin.

Common Pests & Plant Diseases

Common foxglove can be prone to attack from insect pests including aphids, mealy bugs, slugs, and Japanese beetles. Mild infestations are often handled by predatory insects, but serious infestations can be treated with insecticidal soaps or chemical spray pesticides.

Foxglove can also be affected by a variety of funguses, such as powdery mildew, verticillium wilt, and leaf spot. Minimize these problems by giving the plants good air circulation and making sure they are planted in well-draining soil. Treat seriously affected plants with spray fungicides.

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

How to Get Foxglove to Bloom

If a common foxglove is in the second year of its lifecycle, it generally blooms. Failure to bloom (or poor blooming) is usually due to one of the following:

Common Problems With Foxglove

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

Foxglove Plant Has No Flower Spikes

While most nursery plants are grown so they are ready to flower in your garden, it's possible that you have purchased plants that are still in their first year of growth. If your plant produces just a basal rosette of leaves but no flower spikes, leave it in place until the next year; there's a good chance that it will flower robustly in its second year of growth. This is also the normal pattern for seeds planted directly in the garden—they don't flower until their second year of growth.

Less commonly, a biennial foxglove that has already flowered will persist over winter and come back in a weak form for a third year. These third-year plants almost never flower and should be pulled up and discarded. Remember, though, that this is true only of biennial varieties. There are some true perennial foxglove species that should be left in place year after year.

Plants Look Shabby as Summer Progresses

It's fairly normal for foxgloves to begin to look unkempt as the heat of summer arrives. The flower stalks, especially, can look quite shabby. At this point, you can clip off the flower stalks down to the basal rosette (saving the seeds, if you wish). With the flower stalks removed, you may stimulate the plant into producing a second flush of flowers, which often appears as the weather cools in early fall.

Or, you can simply pull the entire plant from the ground once flowering is complete. Make sure, though, to remove only the second-year plants that have completed their flowering cycle. You don't want to pull out first-year seedlings, as these need to overwinter in order to reach their second-year blooming cycle.

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  1. Digitalis purpurea. North Carolina State University Extension

outdoor cultivation, planting and care, properties, photo

Author: Elena N. https://floristics.info/ru/index.php?option=com_contact&view=contact&id=19 Category: Garden Plants Returned: Last amendments:

Content

Plant foxglove, or digitalis (lat. Digitalis) belongs to the genus of herbs of the Plantain family, although it was previously assigned to the Norichnikov family. The scientific name digitalis is derived from the Latin word meaning "thimble". The genus includes about 35 species, mostly found in the Mediterranean, but also found in other parts of Europe, as well as in Western Asia and North Africa. Two species of foxglove grow in Western Siberia and the European part of Russia, four species can be found in the Caucasus.

Selects foxglove flower forest clearings and edges, meadows and shrubs.

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Planting and caring for foxglove

Read more about the cultivation of foxglove below

Botanical description

Digitalis can be a herbaceous perennial or biennial, and in the Western Mediterranean it can be a subshrub or even shrub. The stems of foxglove are rigid, 30 to 150 cm high, unbranched. Large light green leaves, entire, alternate, sharp, oblong and lanceolate, gradually turning into bracts. Large, irregularly shaped yellow, reddish or purple flowers are collected in unilateral or bilateral apical brushes.

Bell-shaped foxglove flowers are arranged in such a way that pollen necessarily showers insects that climb into them, and then bees, flies, wasps and bumblebees transfer pollen to other flowers, carrying out pollination. The flowering of foxglove begins in June and ends by the beginning of autumn. The fruit of the plant is a box in which a large number of small brown seeds ripen, which remain viable for two to three years. One plant can carry up to 2,000,000 seeds.

All foxgloves are poisonous, so they are not grown in the flowerbeds of children's institutions. Some types of foxglove are decorative, and some are better known as medicinal plants. Digitalis leaves of many species contain glycosides used in folk and traditional medicine.

Herbaceous foxglove plant is undemanding to soil composition and care, drought-resistant and frost-resistant. In this article, we will tell you how foxglove is planted and cared for, what types of plants are medicinal, how perennial foxglove is grown from seeds, and we will bring to your attention a lot of other information about digitalis.

Growing digitalis from seeds

How to sow seeds

Digitalis seeds are sown for seedlings in early or mid-March, after soaking them for a week in water, which is changed every 6 hours. It is not necessary to deep-seed the seeds, just sprinkle them lightly on top with sand, then cover the container with glass or film and place in a warm place with soft diffused light.

The foxglove can start sprouting in two weeks.

Care of seedlings

Seedlings develop very slowly at first, but as soon as they form the first leaves, pick the seedlings into separate cups or into a deeper and more spacious box at a distance of 7-10 cm. Caring for foxglove seedlings is no different from caring for any other seedlings: watering as the substrate dries, careful loosening of the soil, protection from direct sunlight and drafts.

A couple of weeks before planting in open ground, hardening procedures are started to prepare the seedlings for garden conditions. Seedlings are exposed daily to fresh air, gradually increasing the duration of her stay in the garden or on the balcony. As soon as the seedlings can spend 24 hours outdoors, they can be planted in open ground.

Planting foxglove outdoors

When to plant

Plant foxglove seedlings in the garden when the threat of spring frosts has passed, that is, in late May or early June. By this time, usually the soil is already well warmed up, and 5-6 leaves have opened on the seedlings. Digitalis prefers open sunny areas, although it grows well in partial shade. However, it is undesirable to plant digitalis under deciduous trees, since moisture always lingers longer in the near-stem circles, and foxglove in such conditions may get wet or not bloom. And in the fall, falling leaves interfere with the plant.

How to plant

Digitalis needs soil that is loose, fertile and moisture permeable, in which water will not stagnate. Dig up the soil in advance in the area to the depth of a shovel bayonet with the simultaneous application of 4-5 kg ​​of compost or humus per m².

Foxglove is planted at a distance of 15-20 cm between seedlings in a row with a row spacing of 25-30 cm wide. Make holes in the soil a little larger than the root system of the seedlings and transfer the seedlings from the cups into the holes along with an earthen clod. If the seedlings are in a box, remove them from the ground and carefully place them in the hole. After planting, the surface of the site is compacted and watered.

In the first year foxglove forms a rosette of leaves, and flowering will not begin until the following year.

Care of digitalis

Growing conditions

Growing digitalis involves the usual procedures for gardeners - watering the digitalis, loosening the soil around the plants, removing weeds from the site, feeding and treating pests or diseases, if necessary.

Watering foxglove is carried out only in conditions of prolonged drought, but in a typical summer with rains, it is not necessary to water the plant. After watering or rain, the soil around the plants should be loosened shallowly and carefully - the digitalis root system is located horizontally in the soil, close to the surface, so it is easy to damage.

Once or twice during the growing season foxglove is fed with a complex mineral fertilizer in liquid form - a solution of minerals is added to the water for irrigation.

During flowering, remove wilted flowers and inflorescences - this measure will prolong the flowering process, and digitalis will not lose its attractiveness until autumn.

Transplanting

Transplanting foxglove should not cause any problems - as already mentioned, the plant's root system is superficial, so digging up a bush is not difficult. The plant is placed in a pre-prepared hole, which should be slightly larger than the root system of a bush with an earthen clod. After transplanting, the bush is watered.

Pests and diseases

Of the diseases, foxglove is most often affected by rot, spotting, powdery mildew and viral mosaic. In case of severe damage by powdery mildew and spotting, it is better to remove the diseased specimen from the site, and treat the rest of the plants with a fungicide solution. Unfortunately, viral diseases such as mosaic, as well as root rot and peduncle rot, are incurable, so the affected plants must be removed and burned.

Of the pests, foxglove is affected by several species of aphids, against which digitalis is treated with Biotlin, Antitlin and Iskra. Aphids are a carrier of incurable viral diseases, so it must be destroyed at the first sign of appearance.

As you can see, in general, foxglove planting and care in the open field are not burdensome at all.

Propagation of digitalis

Propagation of digitalis by seed method - seedlings and seedlings, as well as basal processes.

Propagation by seeds

We have already described the seedling method of propagation of digitalis, but it is easier to grow foxglove by sowing seeds directly into the ground. This can be done in the spring, in the last decade of April or early May. Prepared, as for sowing seedlings, you should try to place the seeds at a distance of 15-20 cm from each other and only lightly sprinkle with soil. In a cool spring, crops are covered with lutrasil. Seedlings, if they turn out to be too thick, are thinned out to stimulate the development of large rosettes.

Digitalis also reproduces well by self-sowing.

Propagation by shoots

As for the vegetative method of propagation, basal shoots are used for this. Leave the most lush inflorescences for seeds, and carefully cut wilted brushes from other peduncles. Three weeks later, several basal rosettes form at the base of the cut peduncles, and as soon as 7-8 leaves form on each of them, they are carefully separated and planted in the ground. Before the beginning of autumn, the rosettes will take root and overwinter normally, and next year they will give peduncles and flowers.

Perennial foxglove after flowering

Close to the surface, the foxglove root system is sometimes exposed, and in order for it to survive the winter, the roots should be sprinkled with nutrient soil in autumn. Perennial foxglove is cold-resistant, but in a snowless winter it can freeze. Cut off wilted and yellowed flower stalks and cover the outlet with dry leaves, sawdust or spruce branches. Young plants especially need shelter.

Species and varieties

The following species and varieties of foxglove are most often grown in cultivation:

Purple foxglove (Digitalis purpurea)

Native to Western, Southern and Central Europe. This perennial, often grown as a biennial plant, reaches a height of 150 cm. Its stems are erect, slightly branched and densely pubescent, with a rosette of basal leaves. Stem leaves on winged long petioles are arranged alternately, and the upper ones are sessile, rounded elongated, crenate along the edge, velvety above and with felt pubescence on the underside. White, carmine, pink, cream or purple with short hairs and a dark stroke inside the corolla, flowers up to 5 cm long are collected in a racemose one-sided inflorescence up to 80 cm long. This species blooms from early to late summer. In culture for a very long time.

There are several varieties of foxglove purple - large-flowered, spotted and gloxiniform. Of the hybrids of digitalis gloxiniform, the Shirley variety is interesting - a plant up to one and a half meters high, continuously blooming with open drooping, spotted inside pink, purple or cream flowers, collected in a one-sided inflorescence.

Also popular is the hybrid mix Excelsior with peduncles up to 180 cm high, on which very large flowers are arranged in a spiral. The foxglove from the Pelorik mix is ​​often grown in the garden, the peduncles of which, dotted with large flowers, also grow up to 180 cm.

Large-flowered foxglove (Digitalis grandiflora = Digitalis ambigua)

Grows naturally in Ukraine, Western Europe, the Mediterranean, the European part of Russia and in Southwestern Siberia. In height, plants of this species rarely exceed 120 cm. They have oblong-lanceolate leaves, pubescent along the veins and along the edges. Yellow flowers with brown veins inside the corolla, reaching a length of 6 cm, are collected in drooping brushes. Outside, the flowers are slightly pubescent. This species has been cultivated since 1561;

Rusty foxglove (Digitalis ferruginea)

One of the most attractive types of digitalis, reaching a height of 70 to 120 cm, although in some cases it can grow up to 2 m. The leaves of this species are oblong-lanceolate, glabrous or slightly pubescent. Flowers up to 4 cm long resemble an orchid with a pronounced lower lip. The color of the flowers is varied - from a pale yellow with a pink bloom to a grayish yellow, which turns into a rusty or golden brown. From the inside, the corolla is decorated with purple or reddish-brown veins. The flowers are collected in large brushes, the flowering of which lasts from the second half of June to August. In culture foxglove rusty with 1597 years old

Woolly foxglove (Digitalis lanata)

Perhaps the most nondescript kind of digitalis growing naturally in Moldova. This foxglove is medicinal, not decorative, and it has its own merits and advantages. The plant has a single peduncle, on which small brownish-yellow flowers with purple veins open. The axis of the inflorescence is covered with dense pubescence, which is why the plant got its name. Flowering foxglove woolly begins in July and lasts about a month and a half;

Yellow foxglove (Digitalis lutea)

Grows in the southwest of Europe, reaching a height of 80 to 100 cm. This plant has no pubescence either on oblong-oval leaves or on stems. Yellow flowers up to 2.5 cm long bloom in July. Cultivated since 1597. The most famous variety is Gelb Janus with flowers of a delicate yellow hue.

Dark foxglove, or obscure, Tapsi, Merton, Nevada, ciliate and some other species and hybrid forms are also grown in the culture.

Benefits and harms of foxglove

Medicinal properties

For a long time, healers used foxglove to treat epilepsy, abdominal and chest dropsy, used it to relieve pain in skin diseases, as well as a remedy for constipation and to cleanse the body. However, with the wrong dosage, vomiting, diarrhea, and often death were observed. Therefore, for a whole century, humanity forgot about foxglove.

Digitalis has been used in traditional medicine since the eighteenth century. It was then that its unusual properties were discovered. The main medicinal raw materials are the leaves of the plant, which are harvested in the first year. They contain 62 glycosides, including gitoxin and digitoxin, lanatosides A, B, C, D, E and others. These biologically active substances are very important in the fight against many cardiovascular diseases. Digitalis is used:

Woolly foxglove is most often used as a medicinal plant. Organic acids, cardiotonic and steroid glycosides are obtained from it. Purple, ciliated and rusty digitalis are also used in medicine, which, although to a lesser extent, also contain biologically active substances.

Digitalis leaves are used to make a powder, which is used in suppositories and tablets. In folk medicine, foxglove infusion is also used.

Contraindications

Literally all types of foxglove are poisonous, so it is strongly not recommended to self-medicate. It is forbidden to use digitalis preparations for people with diseased lungs, angina pectoris, pericarditis, myocarditis, myocardial infarction, gastric tachycardia, as well as children and pregnant women. Digitalis poisoning is manifested by nausea, vomiting, severe abdominal pain, skin rashes, convulsions, respiratory failure, and heart failure.

At the first sign of digitalis poisoning, an ambulance should be called immediately. With prolonged use of drugs from the plant, toxic substances accumulate in the body, which can lead to loss of appetite, anorexia and hallucinations.

Literature

  1. Read related topics on Wikipedia
  2. Peculiarities and other plants of the Plantain family
  3. List of all species on The Plant List
  4. More information on World Flora Online


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Digitalis: planting and care.

How to grow foxglove from seeds. Photo: foxglove in the garden

Digitalis is an amazing, fabulous, even slightly mystical flower. They say that before it was actively used by witches, for which it was popularly called "Witch's thimbles", less often "Witch's finger". Some people still believe that little people live in the forests - elves, flaunting hats made of foxglove flowers. She liked not only fairy-tale creatures, but also gardeners. For a long time they began to decorate their flower beds and gardens with it. Such a wonderful flower - foxglove ... Planting and caring for it almost never causes difficulties, the main thing is to follow the simple rules of agricultural technology.

Botanical description of the flower and seeds

Digitalis, planting and caring for which, in principle, is simple, in recent years has attracted great interest as a beautiful ornamental culture. Its flowers look like bells and are petals fused into tubules and slightly bent at the end. Insects like to bask in them on cool nights. The stamens are located at the top of the flower. Insects, getting along the narrow corolla to the desired nectar, involuntarily touch the stamen anthers, and the pollen falls on their backs. Moving further, the insects touch the pistil with their backs. This is how foxglove is pollinated. Its fruit is a dense box of oval, quadrangular or irregular shape. In each of them, several thousand very small seeds ripen. If they are not collected on time, they spill out onto the ground and later germinate on their own.
Photo: Digitalis in landscape design.

How to grow foxglove from seeds in your garden

Digitalis reproduces only by seeds. Only in some species, varieties and hybrids, the bush is divided into 4-5 parts in order to obtain new plants and rejuvenate existing ones; for this, side rosettes are carefully separated. Growing foxglove from seeds is not difficult, because you can collect tens of thousands of them from each plant! It is better if these are seeds from the lower, largest flowers. They do not require pre-sowing preparation (with rare exceptions). They can be sown in the ground in the last days of April, early May. Growing foxglove from seeds begins with choosing a location. These flowers love open sunny areas, but grow well in partial shade. It is undesirable to plant them only under deciduous trees, because the foliage falling in autumn interferes with foxglove. In addition, it is unlikely that it will be possible to grow foxglove from seeds in places where moisture is constantly kept. There they can get wet, and the resulting plants will feel uncomfortable or not bloom at all. The exception is only a few members of the genus. The soil for foxglove is suitable for any that has good drainage, allowing excess moisture to easily leave.


Photo: Digitalis purple in the garden

How to sow digitalis

To grow digitalis from seed, you need to follow the recommendations of experienced flower growers. They advise to loosen the soil before sowing seeds. Holes and grooves should not be made. Foxglove seeds are too small. If there is a thick layer of earth above them, the sprouts will not be able to break through it. Therefore, the seeds are placed directly on the ground. They can only be lightly powdered with earth or sand. Some gardeners first sow the seeds in shallow boxes and cover them with glass, and later transplant them to a permanent place. To obtain earlier shoots, the seeds are soaked in water. If you add a little potassium permanganate there (the solution should be slightly pink), foxglove sprouts will be protected from many diseases. It is necessary to keep the seed in such a solution for no more than 20-25 minutes. It is difficult to sow foxglove so that the seedlings are at the proper distance from each other. As a rule, sprouts sprout densely. To get tall, strong and beautiful plants, seedlings must be thinned out. It is better to do this in several stages. The first time the sprouts are in the cotyledon stage. There is no need to worry if the seedlings grow slowly. For foxglove, this is a normal physiological process. The second time the seedlings break through when 4-6 leaves appeared. At this stage, you can not destroy the extra foxglove, but find another place for them. The final distance between sprouts should be greater, the larger the variety. The minimum distance is 25-30 centimeters. In the first year foxgloves form lush rosettes of leaves and only in the second year they throw out flower stalks. This must be taken into account when designing a flower garden. Recently, breeders have bred varieties of annual foxglove that bloom after planting immediately in the first year.

Digitalis - the flower of evil witches and good elves > Species of foxglove >
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Photo: Using a flower arrangement

Pasteal Care
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Sown as well as successfully rose and develops. Further care for her is also simple. In order for the roots of the foxglove to receive oxygen, the earth around the plant needs to be loosened from time to time. Only this should be done shallowly, because the roots of foxglove are horizontal. Watering should not be carried away. It is produced only as needed. Of course, you need to break through the bed of weeds. If the plant is already in the flowering stage, you need to remove wilted corollas in the brush, and cut off the faded inflorescences completely. Then the flowering period will be much longer. During the season, the plant can be fed several times with mineral fertilizers, but it is not worth overfeeding much. Otherwise, you will get beautiful lush rosettes, not flowers. Winter foxglove, as a rule, tolerate well. The exposed roots of perennial foxglove are sprinkled with nutrient soil. In snowless winters, if the air temperature is very low, it is advisable to cover the plants with something. 9Ol000 , for example, primroses, geraniums, ornamental bows. Some designers advise creating a background for other flowers from foxglove, for which they are planted in the far row of the flower garden. It is also recommended to combine foxglove with other tall plants, such as viburnum, honeysuckle, roses, valerian, peonies. But even without them, foxglove in the garden looks amazing. Especially if you choose a variety according to the color scheme of the inflorescences. Only in this case, it must be taken into account that insects, flying from flower to flower, will cross-pollinate, which will violate the purity of the variety, which means that it will be impossible to obtain a new generation of the same flowers. If conditions permit, foxglove can be planted against the walls of buildings. Against their background, varieties with contrasting inflorescences in relation to the walls will look fantastic. Foxglove looks good in natural style gardens. As a border plant, digitalis is practically not used, even dwarf ones. Low digitalis is grown in pots and other containers. Many cultivars do well as cut flowers. Digitalis is not recommended to be planted in the yards of children's institutions, because the whole plant is poisonous.

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