How to Sow Foxglove Seeds

Showy foxglove comes in many colors and varieties.

Foxglove, also known as digitalis, is a beautiful plant that has colorful tubular flowers on tall spikes. Ranging from approximately 2 to 6 feet, depending on the variety, foxglove, adds a showy splash of color to the back of a garden. Most foxglove varieties are perennial or biennial and do well in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 4 through 10, though not on the Gulf Coast or in Florida. Foxglove prefers shady, moist areas in which to grow.

Things You'll Need

• Foxglove seeds
• Hand garden fork or tilling shovel
• Compost

Instructions

1. Dig up or till the area in which you want to grow foxglove. Foxglove likes shady areas that drain well. The seeds can be planted either in late spring, after the danger of frost has passed, to early June or late summer to early September. The latter period is when the plant would self-sow naturally.

2. Enrich your soil with compost or a good gardening soil if the soil is poor. Mix in well.

3. Plant the foxglove seeds approximately 12 to 14 inches apart or you can sprinkle them liberally and thin to a spacing of 12 to 14 inches later after they start growing. Foxgloves are large plants, so they will need plenty of space to grow.

4. Cover lightly with 1/8 inch of soil.

5. Water every couple of days. Seedlings should emerge about 14 to 21 days.

Tips & Warnings

• Foxglove normally does not flower until the second year after it is planted.

References

• Gardenhobbies: Growing foxgloves
• Oldfashionedliving: Growing foxgloves
• Gardenersworld: Foxglove seeds growing

Resources

• Burpee Gardening: Foxgloves
• Swallowtail Garden Seeds: foxgloves
• United States National Arboretum: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map