Biennial
How to grow foxgloves
Digitalis purpurea
Foxgloves are biennials: sow the seed on the surface of the compost from May to July, plant the young rosettes out in September or October, and they flower in June and July of the following year. They do best in light shade and moist, humus-rich soil, such as the edge of trees or a north-facing border. To have flowers every year, sow two years running or let one spike drop its seed.
- Hardiness
- Fully hardy biennial
- Position
- Light shade to sun
- Soil
- Moist, humus-rich, free-draining
- Ideal pH
- 5.5 to 7.0
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light feeder
Sowing and planting foxgloves
WhenSow May to Jul; plant out Sep to Oct; flowers Jun to Jul the following year
Starting off
Sow May to Jul on the surface of a tray outdoors or in a cold frame, uncovered, as seed needs light; germination takes 14 to 21 days at 15 to 20 °C. Prick out into 9 cm pots and plant out Sep to Oct for flowers next Jun. In the garden, scatter seed in Jul where you want next year's rosettes.
Spacing and planting
Plant 30 to 45 cm apart in drifts; sow on the surface, uncovered. Not a container plant beyond a 40 cm tub for dwarf 'Foxy' types.
Varieties worth growing
- D. purpurea f. albiflora
- The pure white form of the native foxglove, about 1.5 m. Shows up in shade and comes true from seed if purple plants are kept away.
- D. purpurea 'Sutton's Apricot'
- Soft apricot-pink flowers on tall spikes. An easy colour to place with roses and old brick.
- D. purpurea 'Pam's Choice'
- White flowers with a heavily spotted maroon throat; tall and good for cutting.
- D. purpurea Dalmatian Series
- Bred to flower in its first summer from an early sowing under cover, on shorter, sturdy plants of about 1 m. Useful if you do not want to wait a year.
- D. × mertonensis
- The strawberry foxglove: a short-lived perennial with crushed-strawberry pink flowers at about 75 cm. Comes true from seed and can be divided in early spring.
Foxgloves month by month
Timings are for central England. Allow two weeks later in the north and on cold, heavy soil.
- January
Nothing to do.
- February
Nothing to do. Order seed.
- March
A light feed for rosettes on poor soil. Plant out any overwintered in pots.
- April
Water rosettes in a dry spring. Check for aphids as the spikes begin to rise.
- May
Sow on the surface of a tray, uncovered. Spikes lengthen.
- June
Flowering. Sow now if not already done.
- July
Cut the main spike once it finishes, leaving one plant to seed. Last sowings. Scatter fresh seed where you want plants.
- August
Side spikes flower. Prick out seedlings into 9 cm pots.
- September
Plant out young rosettes. Seed drops from spikes left standing; pull the spent plants afterwards.
- October
Finish planting. Thin or move self-sown seedlings to 30 to 45 cm apart.
- November
Nothing to do.
- December
Nothing to do.
Feeding foxgloves
A light feeder of the woodland edge. Leaf mould or compost at planting does most of the work; a single light feed in March of the flowering year is worth giving only on poor, dry soil.
Low, a woodland-edge plant; leaf mould and a light feed suffice.
Feeding plan
August to September, seedlings in pots
1 g per litre of water every 2 to 3 weeks from pricking out until planting out.
September to October, planting out
Leaf mould or garden compost
A 5 cm layer forked into the planting area, or laid as a mulch between the rosettes. No fertiliser.
March of the flowering year, poor or sandy soil only
50 g/m², half the label rate, once: about 8 g per plant at 40 cm spacing, scattered round the rosette and watered in.
Potting, dwarf varieties in tubs
5 g per litre of compost, the bottom of the label range, mixed in: 150 g for a 40 cm tub holding about 30 litres. No further feed.
Signs to watch
Yellow lower leaves and a small spike
Nitrogen short on dry sand
Mulch with leaf mould and one balanced feed in Mar
Lush rosette that rots at the base
Waterlogging
Raise the bed
Leaves scorched in full sun in Jul
Drought, not a nutrient fault
Water and give light shade
Pests, diseases and problems
Seedlings and small rosettes grazed or eaten off in the tray or soon after planting out
Slugs and snails
Grow seedlings on to a sturdy 9 cm pot before planting, hand-pick at night and keep trays up off the ground on a bench.
Seedlings fall over at soil level in the tray
Damping off, favoured by thick sowing and wet compost
Mix the dust-fine seed with a little dry sand to sow it thinly, water from below and give the tray plenty of air.
Green or black insects clustered on the flower spike, flowers distorted and sticky
Aphids
Rub off or wash off with water while numbers are low. Leave the rest to ladybirds and blue tits.
White powdery coating on the leaves in summer
Powdery mildew on plants in dry soil
Water deeply in dry spells and mulch with leaf mould. Plants in sun on light soil suffer most; move next year's rosettes to shadier, moister ground.
Brown or purple-edged spots on the leaves, which yellow and die from the bottom of the plant up
Foxglove leaf spot, a fungus spread by rain splash in wet seasons
Pick off affected leaves, space plants 30 to 45 cm apart and clear spent plants away after seeding. Do not save seed from affected plants.
Pruning
Pruning and care
Cut the main spike at the base once it finishes in Jul and side spikes follow in Aug; leave one spike to ripen and shed seed in Sep for a self-sown succession. No staking in shelter; in wind push in a single cane. Pull plants after seeding; the fully hardy rosettes need no winter protection.
Good to knowBiennial, let it self-seed for flowers every year. All parts are poisonous.
Growing foxgloves in pots
Tall foxgloves are poor pot plants because they are top-heavy and thirsty in the weeks they flower. Shorter kinds, such as the Dalmatian Series and dwarf 'Foxy', are manageable in a tub at least 40 cm across: plant three rosettes in autumn in loam-based compost with some leaf mould, stand the tub in light shade and never let it dry out once the spikes are rising in May. Treat the planting as a one-year display and replace it after flowering.
Foxgloves: common questions
Do foxgloves come back every year?
Not the same plant: the common foxglove is a biennial that grows leaves in its first year, flowers in its second and then dies. It appears to come back because it self-seeds freely. Leave one spike to shed seed each year and you will have a continuous supply. Some species, such as D. × mertonensis and D. grandiflora, are true perennials.
Are foxgloves poisonous to touch?
Touching foxgloves is unlikely to harm you, but every part of the plant is highly poisonous if eaten, to people, dogs, cats and livestock. Wear gloves when handling the plants or their seed, wash your hands afterwards, and teach children not to pick or taste them.
Do foxgloves grow in full shade?
Foxgloves grow in full shade but flower best in light or dappled shade, such as under deciduous trees or beside a north or east-facing wall. In deep, dry shade the spikes are short and thin. They also cope with full sun, provided the soil stays moist through June.
Sources
Growing information on this page was checked against these references in November 2026. Feeding rates are Dr Forest label rates.