How to grow Common Foxglove

May require staking. Keep soil moist but not soggy.

Deadhead when about three-fourths of the flower spike has faded. Cut back to basal rosettes after flowering has finished. Leave a few flower spikes if you want plants to reseed.

To encourage plants to flower again the following year, cut the flower spikes back before seeds set. Then dig plant and replant new rosettes.

Foxgloves grow readily from seed, and in the wild is often found in semi shade positions. Sprinkle the seed on the top of a sandy mix in mid summer and pot up individually when large enough to handle.
Plant out in the flowering position in the autumn.
Flowering occurs in the second summer.
Alternatively, if foxgloves are already in your garden, move the self sown seedlings into a more welcome position in the late summer.

Try to aim for a seed spacing of at least 5.85 inches (15.0 cm) and sow at a depth of around 0.0 inches (0.0 cm). Soil temperature should be kept higher than 16°C / 61°F to ensure good germination.

By our calculations*, you should look at sowing Common foxglove about 70 days before your last frost date .

Propagate by seed – Start seeds outdoors in a nursery bed any time after frost danger has passed up until 2 months before the first heavy fall frost. Do not cover, as light aids germination. Transplant the plants to their garden location in the fall or the following spring. Plants readily self-seed.

Days to emergence: 14 to 21

Seedlings transplant easily and usually only require an intone watering in and then can be left to grow unaided

Ensure that temperatures are mild and all chance of frost has passed before planting out, as Common foxglove is a hardy plant.

The leaves are used in herbal medicine and harvested just as the flower stalk is beginning to bloom.¹ This is, however, not recommended since the amount of digitoxin and digoxin will vary from plant to plant and it is very difficult to discern proper dosage. If you have an exposure, you should call your local emergency number (such as 911) or in the US the National Poison Control Center at 1-800-222-1222.³ If you suspect your pet has ingested foxglove call your vet and follow their instructions.

Many seeds are produced in the bilocular capsule. Wait until the seed capsule is dry and brown, cut the stalk off the plant and shake the seeds into a paper bag

These estimates for how long Common foxglove takes to sprout, grow and harvest are from real observations from real gardeners, right around the world.

Our when to plant Common foxglove estimates are relative to your last frost date.

*With rich, moist but well-drained soil and partial shade, this garden classic will produce spikes up to 5 feet tall of dainty, two-lipped blooms. ‘Foxy’ hybrids will bloom the first year from seed. With most other varieties, you can stretch their biennial nature and get them to flower an additional year or so.

The drug made from this plant was one of the favorite methods of murder by one of the most successful serial killers in the United States.² He was nicknamed “the foxglove killer” due to this.²
The drug digoxin used help failing heart muscle is derived from digitoxin found the dried leaves of fox gloves. Although the common fox glove contains this cardiac glycoside Digitalis lanata is used commercially and cultivated in Ecuador Holland and USA

Foxglove

Digitalis tomentosa

Misspellings: Vingerhoedskruid, Digitalis pupurea

¹ National Geographic Desk Reference to Nature’s Medicine page 175

² The Foxglove Killer

³ Medicine Plus-The US Natinal Library of Medicine