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Sowing Foxgloves (Digitalis)

JerryBoneJerryBone Posts: 91
in Talkback

Hi all,

I purchased a packet of pure white foxgloves at the beginning of this year to sow. I am aware that they don't flower on their first growing year.

I'm wanting to plant these in my wild part of my garden, devoted to wildlife, with a white theme.

I read the package and it says to sow them at the end of the year, However I would be more interested in starting them off this spring...? Any opinions on this? I've never grown Foxgloves from seed before and anyone who has, Id love to hear when you sowed yours and what works best!

Thanks all!

 

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Posts

  • Dave MorganDave Morgan Posts: 3,123

    You can start them now and plant out later in the year. I do. Works for me.

  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 15,039

    Usual practice for biennials is, to sow June / July, to flower the following year. I am sure sowing now, would work fine though.

    How can you lie there and think of England
    When you don't even know who's in the team

    S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
  • JerryBoneJerryBone Posts: 91

    Thanks, I have been excited to start growing these so this is great news! Thank you.

    I love the look of white foxgloves and cant wait for their display next year!

  • darren636darren636 Posts: 666
    My home grown purpurea alba had one good flower spike in their second year and multiple huge flowers in their third year.

    All died over winter , got plenty of self seeded new ones though, big enough to flower in summer.
  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,618

    I sowed some (Candy Mountain)in March i have just pricked out into 3 inch pots.

    When the 3 inch pots are full of roots I will put them in the final position some time this summer. I find that makes the biggest spikes for the following year.  For biennials in general you can sow any time up to June, to flower the following spring/summer.

  • JerryBoneJerryBone Posts: 91

    Darren636, sounds like your ones done great! Im pretty sure that mine are that exact variety, if so, I hope they do as good as your ones did!

    Fidgetbones, that sounds great to me, I will be doing the same. I cant wait to get home from work tonight and start sowing!

    Thanks both

  • nutcutletnutcutlet Posts: 27,445

    I find all the digitalis germinate whenever I sow them. 



    In the sticks near Peterborough
  • lilysillylilysilly Posts: 511

    I bought seeds and sowed mine a month ago. They are now getting their true leaves but are still too small to prick out yet, so l would advise to sow very thinly in 9cm pots because the seeds are tiny. I only bought seeds because my self sown plants didn't make it through the very wet winter we had and rotted off....or so l thought l didn't know that foxglove tap roots would send up new leaves if left in the ground. So l thought that if l sowed seed earlier this year l would have bigger, stronger plants to make it through this coming winter .

  • JerryBoneJerryBone Posts: 91

    Thanks Lilysilly, I will be sure to sow them thinly, My greenhouse is currently so packed with pots of seedlings! I've had to plant out some of my plants into nursery beds in my greenhouse to free up space for other seedlings! I'm on a mission this year! Its so exhilarating!

    I may upload a picture of the inside of my greenhouse to show everyone, if I can manage to get this to work on my phone image

  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    Won't work on iPhone Jerry, works on some others.



    Nothing's working for me at the moment on Safari, no tool bar, Won't do links, I am having to use Chrome.
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

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