{"id":2381,"date":"2018-04-10T06:35:11","date_gmt":"2018-04-10T14:35:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/?p=2381"},"modified":"2018-04-10T06:35:11","modified_gmt":"2018-04-10T14:35:11","slug":"foxglove-smackdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/foxglove-smackdown\/","title":{"rendered":"Foxglove Smackdown"},"content":{"rendered":"

The garden looks desolate right now because winter does not have the good sense to pack up its snowy bags and go away.\u00a0 Despite that, the foxgloves thrive.\u00a0 Even when wintery mix threatens in April, their lettuce-like basal rosettes spring up stubbornly from the earth, challenging the elements to a seasonal smack-down.\u00a0 Old man winter doesn\u2019t know it, but my money is on the foxgloves.<\/p>\n

I confess that I have steadfastly underestimated foxgloves, or Digitalis species, throughout my gardening career.\u00a0 There are at least 19 of them, in addition to countless cultivated varieties and hybrids.\u00a0 All are native to southern Europe or western Asia, but they arrived on North American shores early.\u00a0 Digitalis purpurea, or common foxglove, was first described by Virginian John Custis in 1737.\u00a0 Other species were not far behind and since then, the plants have been stalwart survivors.\u00a0 My garden is a case in point, with foxgloves that succeed in part shade, part sun and even full sun, blooming beautifully through the growing season.\u00a0 They look coarse and rather nondescript when out of flower, but light up the landscape when the blooms break out.<\/p>\n

Most gardeners and flower lovers are familiar with foxglove.\u00a0 The stalks are tall and relatively thick, with scores of elongated bell-shaped flowers on each one. \u00a0Opening sequentially from the bottom of the stalk to the top, flower colors range from shades of white, cream and yellow, through the pink and peach range, to rose, purple and nearly black. \u00a0The lips or throats are often speckled in maroon, purple or brown.<\/p>\n

Some foxgloves are perennial plants, but the most popular types are biennial, meaning that the plants establish a basal rosette of leaves the first year, then flower, set seed and die in the second year.\u00a0\u00a0 In practical terms, if you plant foxglove seeds or young plants two years running, the resulting garden display might as well be perennial. \u00a0A single plant can produce tens of thousands of minute seeds, many of which germinate readily in the average garden.\u00a0 Once foxgloves get started, they do not know when to stop.\u00a0 Fortunately, young seedlings are easy to dig up and move around, so overpopulation is a blessing rather than a curse.<\/p>\n

My garden will be full of foxgloves if the wintery weather ever stops.\u00a0 The tallest, which bloom in early summer, are hybrids of Digitalis purpurea. \u00a0Despite the Latin name, which comes from the word for \u201cpurple\u201d, the flowers are white or pastel tinted.\u00a0 Popular purpurea hybrids include white-fingered \u2018Snow Thimble\u2019, rosy lavender \u2018Dalmatian Purple\u2019, and peachy \u2018Apricot Beauty\u2019.\u00a0 Most purpureas grow between 24 and 36 inches tall, depending on soil, light and moisture conditions.<\/p>\n

\u2018Pam\u2019s Choice\u2019, discovered a couple of decades ago, is another beautiful purpurea cultivar that sports white flowers accented by dramatic maroon throats.\u00a0\u00a0 I remember reading somewhere that the progenitor of Pam\u2019s Choice was a chance seedling that an English gardener found growing on her compost pile.\u00a0 The story makes a nice metaphor about beauty sprouting amid detritus.\u00a0 True or not, \u2018Pam\u2019s Choice\u2019 is stunning in the middle or back of a flower border.<\/p>\n

Later in the summer, in another garden bed, the yellow bells of Digitalis grandiflora, sometimes known by the mysterious name, Digitalis ambigua, will bloom near several blue-flowered hydrangea, providing an appealing contrast.\u00a0 This foxglove is a short-lived perennial and a particularly rampant self-seeder.\u00a0 For years I have found its offspring everywhere in my back garden.<\/p>\n

Depending on your garden\u2019s color scheme, you may also like Digitalis x mertonensis or strawberry foxglove, a short-lived perennial hybrid that bears large rosy flowers.\u00a0 Another good choice is Digitalis ferruginea or rusty foxglove, with golden-amber \u201cgloves\u201d marked in brown.\u00a0 Like many other foxgloves, it also blooms in late spring to early summer.<\/p>\n

The word \u201cdigitalis\u201d comes for the Latin word for finger, probably a reference to the thimble-shaped blossoms.\u00a0 The ancient Anglo-Saxons reportedly called the plant \u201cfoxes glofa\u201d, and the contemporary common name is derived from that term. \u00a0According to one legend, elves or fairies gave digitalis blossoms to foxes to wear like mittens, muffling their footfalls while they were on their predacious rounds.\u00a0 You may or may not have mitten-clad foxes traipsing around your garden, but if you have deer, they will avoid foxgloves.<\/p>\n

The plants have been used by humans for centuries.\u00a0 Consumed indiscriminately, all digitalis parts are poisonous. \u00a0However, when the seeds and\/or leaves are processed correctly, and the resulting substance prescribed appropriately, the result is an effective treatment for heart-related problems including edema or swelling due to fluid accumulation.\u00a0 William Withering, an English physician, experimented with digitalis in the late eighteenth century and found that it was effective for patients suffering from the hard-to-treat type of edema known then as \u201cdropsy\u201d. \u00a0Physicians still prescribe drugs derived from digitalis plants.<\/p>\n

Grow foxgloves in well-drained soil that has been enriched with compost and water regularly while new plants establish themselves.\u00a0 Though they are often recommended for shade gardens, foxgloves really prefer part or light shade for best flowering.\u00a0 Removing the spent flower stalks will make the plants more attractive, but will also prevent the self-seeding that many of us lazy gardeners find desirable.\u00a0 The choice is up to you, but if you love beautiful, no-fuss flowers, choose foxgloves.\u00a0 You can find them at most nurseries and garden centers starting in the spring, but you can also order from Bluestone Perennials, 7211 Middle Ridge Rd. Madison, OH 44057; (800) 852-5243<\/a>; www.bluestoneperennials.com<\/a>.\u00a0 Free print catalog.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
A foxglove rosette emerging in spring. Flowers guaranteed!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The garden looks desolate right now because winter does not have the good sense to pack up its snowy bags and go away.\u00a0 Despite that, the foxgloves thrive.\u00a0 Even when wintery mix threatens in April, their lettuce-like basal rosettes spring up stubbornly from the earth, challenging the elements to a seasonal smack-down.\u00a0 Old man winter … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,2,3],"tags":[733,1847,1846,1844,1845,1718],"class_list":["post-2381","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fall","category-general-interest","category-spring","category-summer","tag-digitalis","tag-digitalis-ambigua","tag-digitalis-purpurea","tag-foxgloves","tag-poison-plants","tag-shade-perennials"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2381","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2381"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2381\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2383,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2381\/revisions\/2383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2381"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2381"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2381"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}