PlantFiles: Foxglove
Digitalis purpurea 'Excelsior Group'

Noe Valley, San Francisco. You hear a lot about the San Francisco bay area micro-climates. I live in one. In this curiously cool, mediterranean climate Digitalis purpurea grows splendidly. I've had clumps naturalized in my large city garden since '91. The plants here this past summer are the descendents of at least a dozen odd six packs of garden center Digitalis. The plants pictured have an extraordinary characteristic. I believe they were tetraploids, twice the normal genes.

I grew these easily from seed last year. Today (June 27, 2005), they are in full bloom in Rawdon, Quebec Zone 4. They seem to grow taller (36 in) in sunnier location, but are doing well even in partial sun (24 in).

I purchased one Excelsior foxglove along with several other types including Foxy and a few unnamed varieties when I started my back garden. Every year I have perhaps 75 -100 foxglove that come up in my garden, which are reseeds from the previous year. I'm not sure which cultivars are which any longer, but every once in a while I will get a huge, tremendous foxglove with pendulous bells on it. I believe these are strains of the Excelsior that I first planted way back in 1997. I always let these go to seed and sprinkle them over the garden in back. I might only get a couple per year that are as gorgeous as noted, but even the less showy ones are beautiful. A wonderful sight in June, and again in August!

Note: if you cut the stalk down before it goes to seed, it will generally rebloom and you can reseed from the second showing. The foxglove "babies" that spring up are easily transplanted to the location you want them to bloom. I've had them take root in no more than mulch - even if I forgot to dig them in.

Not as easy to grow as reported....I grew in the Mid-Atlantic and although seeds germinated quickly and completely, only one plant survived to flower....I think most rotted...intolerant of wet, and or winter/wet soil.

Biennial hybrids for the back of the border.

Has tall spikes of tubular flowers in a range of pastel shades with spotted throats. Unlike the species the flowers face outwards and are arranged all around the stem.

Loves moist but well-drained soil in sun or light shade. They tolerate a wide range of soil conditions and garden situations except very wet, very dry or too much heat. In hotter regions grow in partial shade and keep watered well.

Seedlings will not come true from garden collected seeds.