Foxgloves

Flower & Garden Magazine, May-June, 1997 by William A. Shear

As a drive through any settled neighborhood will show, American gardens are getting shadier. The tracts developed 20 and 30 years ago and furnished with small trees are now under a green canopy. New houses are being built with more sensitivity to the environment, and in many parts of the country home builders are leaving more trees on lots, not only to improve the appearance of the property but also to provide weather-moderating benefits.

My own property reflects the thinking of both eras: the house was built 25 years ago, but the original owners were wise enough to leave in place many of the pines and dogwoods that covered the property. Over time, as the dogwoods have matured, the garden I've developed under the trees has grown still more shaded.

Like many other gardeners, I seek out plants that perform well under partially shaded conditions. Such plants could be entirely new additions to the garden spectrum or old-timers in new forms.

Fox loves for example members of the genus Digitalis, have a long association with antique cottage gardens beginning with the purple foxglove (Digitalis purpurea). This great old standby seems to thrive almost anywhere. In its western European homeland and in Britain, native and garden forms can be found along roadsides and even on cliff-bound pastures.

While walking on the Lleyn Peninsula of Wales three summers ago, I spotted a small clump of foxgloves on the edge of a cliff above the Irish Sea, reduced by wind and weather to producing just 6-inch spikes of normal-size flowers. So there seems to be no doubt about the hardiness and reliability of the species. Modern gardeners, though, are not limited to this readily available form. There are other foxgloves that offer other kinds of excitement.

The common purple foxglove grows from 3 to 7 feet tall, depending on conditions. In late spring and early summer, flower spikes quickly develop from rosettes of big, velvety green leaves that have overwintered. The individual flowers are like long, narrow, flaring bells -- just the right size for a fox's paw or a human finger (the Latin name Digitalis comes from digitus, meaning finger). The hybrid strains bloom in numerous colors -- not just the original light purple -- including white, cream, pale yellow, all shades of pink and purple, and deep reddish violet, all mottled with darker spots outlined in white. Part of the charm of a mass planting is trying to find any two that are alike.

An ideal foxglove spot might be at the edge of woods or under high shade. The amount of shade depends much on summer temperatures. In New England foxgloves love the sun and grow beautifully in the open. Here in Virginia shade is needed or the plants look pretty ragged in bloom. Farther south, foxgloves thrive even in heavy shade. It's worth doing a little experimenting. The soil should be rich in organic matter but never soggy; foxgloves will not make it through the winter in a wet site. Drainage is essential.

Purple foxgloves are biennials, a category that puts off some gardeners, perhaps because such plants are not quite annuals and not quite perennials. Biennials complete their life cycle in two years, spending the first year forming leaves and storing food reserves, and the second year blooming and setting seed. Therefore, to keep a show of these plants going requires a little planning. Because foxgloves are likely to the after blooming, mature plants are not really a good investment. It's much more economical to row them from seed.

The tiny seeds are inexpensive -- a packet usually contains 300 to 500. Sometime in March or April they may be scattered over a loose, organic planting mix and lightly covered. The flat or pot should be watered only from beneath until the seedlings have reached an appreciable size. Germination occurs in about a week with gentle bottom heat and a cover of plastic wrap (which should be left in place until it is safe to water from the top). Germination percentages are high, so one packet produces an abundance of transplants. When the largest seedlings are about an inch in diameter, they can be moved to individual pots or multicelled packs. With early-sown seed, another transfer to pots may be required if packs are used; the seedlings will grow rapidly and will be ready to be planted out by June.

Here's where the planning comes in: If you are maintaining a bed of foxgloves in the same place, you don't want your transplants ready until the current year's blooming plants have finished and you've had a chance to renovate the soil. So time your seed sowing accordingly; my seedlings, each in a 4-inch pot, reach the right size for transplanting in 12 to 14 weeks.

After the old plants have been removed, till the bed and incorporate organic matter. Leaf mold and compost are excellent soil amendments, but well-rotted cow or horse manure will also do. Space the seedlings about 12 inches apart. By late fall all gaps will be filled, and the following summer each plant will produce one or more spectacular spikes. While they look great in a massed planting, foxgloves also combine well with other plants; I particularly favor putting them behind columbines (Aquilegia) in a border setting. And, of course, foxgloves are classics in the jumble of a traditional cottage garden.