How Does Foxglove Grow?
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Planting
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Foxglove, which is a relative of the snapdragon, can be grown as a wild flower or sown in a garden in a formal setting. Foxglove likes sun, but can be grown in a lightly shaded area. One important thing to remember is that foxglove leaves are poisonous. You need to plant it in a location where children and pets will not be able to come in contact with it. Foxglove is planted from seeds that can be scattered at random in a field if you want the wildflower look. If you want to plant foxglove in a formal garden, cover the seeds with a light coating of soil, just about 1/8th of an inch. Once the seedlings start to grow, you will need to thin them out to 24 inches between each plant. The leaves will eventually form a wide blanket at the base of the plant.
Care
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Foxglove is hardy in zones 4 to 10, but does not do good in Florida. Foxglove needs a lot of water, but the soil itself needs to be well drained. Add organic matter to the soil and it will help with drainage and provide fertilizer as well, another big need of foxglove. About once a month, give your foxglove a feeding of an all-purpose fertilizer and you will produce much larger flowers. Foxglove will re-seed itself, but you will have to wait two years for more flowers to appear. It is a good idea to put in new plants each year in ensure that you will have constant blooms.
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Features
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Foxglove is neither a perennial nor an annual. It is a biennial, meaning the plant will have a life span of two years.
Foxglove does not produce flowers in its first year. There will just be long stems with leaves that are shaped as rosettes. The flowers appear in the second year, starting at the bottom of the stalk and working their way up to the top. The flowers at the bottom will grow the largest, and the ones at the top the smallest, with graduated sizes in between. The stems will grow as tall as 4 feet and produce flowers that are bell shaped and can range in color from white and cream to pink and rose up to a deep red or maroon. Foxglove is also known as Digitalis Purpurea, and was the original source of the heart medicine, Digitalis, which is now made in the laboratory.
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