Common Foxglove Digitalis purpurea
Other Common Name(s):
- Phonetic Spelling
- dij-ee-TAH-liss pur-PUR-ee-ah
- This plant has high severity poison characteristics.
- See below
- Description
-
Foxglove is a European import with tall, bold blooms in many colors. It prefers moist, well-drained soil high in organic matter that should not be allowed to dry out. Foxglove does best with afternoon shade. It is a biennial, having only a rosette of leaves the first year. The second-year a tall spike appears with showy blooms on a densely packed one-side raceme. Deadhead after flowering to avoid excessive numbers of seedlings, but some flowers must go to seed to maintain a permanent planting as if they were perennials.
Use to add a vertical dimension to the perennial flower bed. They are attractive in front of walls and shrubs and planted in mass.
Family name previously Schrophulariaceae
Quick ID Hints:
- Perennial herb with basal rosette of downy leaves
- Terminal raceme of large pendulous flowers
- Corolla tube inflated, funnel-form bell-shaped
- Inner tube whitish with purplish edging & maculati
Erect perennial herb 2-5' tall.
Blooms late spring to early summer; utilized under trees, shady locations,woodlands, natural settings, borders; must water copiously in dry weather and during southern heat loads. Prefers partial shade, moist, well-drained, acidic soils with abundant humus; fungal diseases and aphids, Japanese beetles, and mealy bugs are problems.
'Excelsior Hybrids' - flowers borne around the rachis, available in pastel shades and maculation in tube fairly easy to view.
- See this plant in the following landscapes:
- Cottage Garden in Shade Fairy Gardens Border Garden, Upcycled Davidson County Extension Demonstration Garden
- Cultivars / Varieties:
-
- 'Foxy'
hort-statured selection (2-3 feet in flower) that blooms reliably from seed the first year with white, cream and rose blooms. - 'Temple Bells'
dwarf plants with spikes of yellow, tubular flowers marked with brown
- 'Foxy'
- 'Foxy', 'Temple Bells'
- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
-
- 'Foxy'
hort-statured selection (2-3 feet in flower) that blooms reliably from seed the first year with white, cream and rose blooms. - 'Temple Bells'
dwarf plants with spikes of yellow, tubular flowers marked with brown
- 'Foxy'
- 'Foxy', 'Temple Bells'
- Tags:
-
-
Attributes:
- Genus:
- Digitalis
- Species:
- purpurea
- Family:
- Plantaginaceae
- Uses (Ethnobotany):
- Was used to treat heart conditions, but is highly poisonous if used incorrectly.
- Life Cycle:
- Biennial
- Recommended Propagation Strategy:
- Seed
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- Europe
- Wildlife Value:
- Nectar attracts bumblebees and hummingbirds.
- Particularly Resistant To (Insects/Diseases/Other Problems):
- Browsing by deer, contains a chemical that deer avoid.
- Dimensions:
- Height: 2 ft. 0 in. - 5 ft. 0 in.
- Width: 1 ft. 0 in. - 2 ft. 6 in.
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Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Annual
- Perennial
- Poisonous
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Habit/Form:
- Clumping
- Dense
- Erect
- Growth Rate:
- Medium
- Maintenance:
- Medium
- Texture:
- Coarse
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Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
- Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
- Soil Texture:
- High Organic Matter
- Soil pH:
- Acid (<6.0)
- Soil Drainage:
- Good Drainage
- Moist
- Available Space To Plant:
- 12 inches-3 feet
- NC Region:
- Coastal
- Mountains
- Piedmont
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b
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Fruit:
- Fruit Type:
- Capsule
- Fruit Description:
- Rounded fruit capsule which splits open at maturity to release the numerous small brown, ridged seeds.
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Flowers:
- Flower Color:
- Cream/Tan
- Pink
- Purple/Lavender
- White
- Flower Inflorescence:
- Raceme
- Flower Value To Gardener:
- Showy
- Flower Bloom Time:
- Spring
- Summer
- Flower Shape:
- Funnel
- Tubular
- Flower Size:
- 1-3 inches
- Flower Description:
- Blooms grow on tall spikes as a 1-sided raceme with blooms closely grouped together. They are 2-3 inch long tubular flowers and come in multiple colors of white, pinks and purple with purple and white spots inside the petals. An elongate, terminal raceme, 1-2' long to sparcely branched, bracteate, with flowers subsecund, borne on one side, or borne around the rachis in some hybrids. Flowers are large, nodding, purple to pale pink or white, mauve or yellowish in some hybrids; corolla tube inflated, campanulate, 1.5-2" long, tube inside ciliate, usually heavily marked with white, edged darker purple maculation, lobes 4, upper lip shorter than lower lip.
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Leaves:
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Leaf Color:
- Green
- Leaf Feel:
- Velvety
- Leaf Value To Gardener:
- Showy
- Leaf Type:
- Simple
- Leaf Arrangement:
- Alternate
- Rosulate
- Leaf Shape:
- Cuneate
- Lanceolate
- Ovate
- Leaf Margin:
- Crenate
- Hairs Present:
- Yes
- Leaf Length:
- > 6 inches
- Leaf Description:
- The first year it forms a tight rosette of coarse leaves with prominent veins that are up to a foot long and covered with gray-white hairs on the upper surface and are wooly or hairy below. The clump remains low and close to the ground. In the second year, an upright flower stem with smaller leaves is produced from the center of the basal clump. Alternate, simple, ovate to lanceolate, rugose, acute, broad cuneate to subtorund, pubescent; basal leaves long petiolate, petiole and blade reducing upward on cauline leaves.
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Stem:
- Stem Color:
- Green
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
- Stem Surface:
- Hairy (pubescent)
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Landscape:
- Landscape Location:
- Rock Wall
- Vertical Spaces
- Woodland
- Landscape Theme:
- Cottage Garden
- Pollinator Garden
- Design Feature:
- Border
- Mass Planting
- Small groups
- Attracts:
- Bees
- Butterflies
- Pollinators
- Resistance To Challenges:
- Deer
- Rabbits
- Problems:
- Poisonous to Humans
- Problem for Cats
- Problem for Children
- Problem for Dogs
- Problem for Horses
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-
Poisonous to Humans:
- Poison Severity:
- High
- Poison Symptoms:
- Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain, severe headache, irregular and slow pulse, tremors, unusual color visions, convulsions, Cardiac arrhythmias, death
- Poison Toxic Principle:
- cardiac glycosides
- Causes Contact Dermatitis:
- No
- Poison Part:
- Flowers
- Leaves
- Roots
- Stems
