Digitalis purpurea
Perennial

USDA Zones: 4 - 9
Light: sun in Zones 4 to 7; light shade Zones 8 to 9
Form: Flower Spikes
Height:  18 to 60 inches
Width:  10 to 24 inches
Flower Colors: pinks and creams with touches of yellow; bi-colors
Bloom Time: late spring - summer
Special Features:
Attracts Hummingbirds
Beds/Borders
Deer Resistant
Flowers
Self-Sowing
Showy Flowers
Woodland

Foxglove creates a spectacular display with its spikes of pendulous, tubular flowers in cream, yellow, pink, rose, and purple. Each bloom is dotted with spots on its interior. They begin blooming at the bottom in late spring and continue upward to early summer for four weeks. Downy foliage forms large rosettes and climbs partway up the flower stalks. Foxglove is a charming, stately plant for cottage and woodland gardens or informal gardens. Technically a biennial, foxglove often will bloom the first year from seed (depending on the variety) and thereafter may well reseed itself well enough to act like a perennial.

Notable Varieties
'Alba' naturalizes well and produces white flowers.
'Excelsior' grows 5 feet tall with pink, rose, white, and yellow flowers on all sides of its spikes rather than just three like other varieties.
'Foxy' is a cool-season annual that grows 30 to 40 inches and will flower the first year if sown in very early spring.

Care
Plant foxglove in an area with some afternoon shade or full sun if summer temperatures are mild in moist, rich, well-drained soil. Keep well-watered. Do not allow to dry out. Plant in a wind-sheltered area in the back of the garden. Foxglove leaves are poisonous.

Planting
Sow seeds outdoors in late spring or early summer for blooms the following spring. Or plant established plants 18 to 24 inches apart in fall. Cut off stalks of ripened seedpods and shake out seeds where new plants are desired, or allow to self-sow.

Pests and Diseases
Powdery mildew, aphid, mealy bugs, and Japanese beetles can all cause occasional problems.