Sorry to post here..But I need an answer fast...LOL
I have a foxglove plant..It did not bloom last year (grown from seed) I'm assuming it will bloom this year? But after it blooms does it die? If so this will really make me mad! LOL I don't think I like these kind of plants. Therefore I may be willing to trade it for something that blooms every year! LOL. Somebody help!
CLOSED: Foxglove Question?
Kim, I think they're Biennials/Perennials.Probably, will bloom this yr..maybe die back nxt yr but you'll have some that will automatically have some that will re-sow.
Ü
Yes, it's a biennial. It will bloom the 2nd year, produce a bunch of seeds, and then promptly die. Like hollyhocks. Isn't it a shame? Eventually, if you let it go to seed and then also sow other seeds on alternating years, you can end up with quite a nice a stand of it which will keep dropping seeds and producing new plants. After a few years, if you have more patience than I do, you can have some foxglove always in bloom and more always in production.
I love hollyhocks but haven't grown them consistently enough yet to have a nice stand of them. Maybe I'll learn patience some day.
NancyAnn
LOL Kim! You may as well leave it now. Mine have buds. It is true-leave some seeds there to self seed and eventually you will think it is a perennial.
The blooms are worth the trouble. My foxglove are absolutely beautiful right now! I will definetly plant more.
I am pretty sure there are a couple of perennial types - yellow D. grandiflora is called "perennial foxglove", and my experience with Straw Foxglove (D. lutea) leads me to think that it goes for a few years, a short-lived perennial. It self sows if it finds bare ground, pretty prolifically.
yes, biennial. like canterbury bells.
i kept my foxglove seeds last year and planted them in the fall--looks like they won't be blooming this year either but now i'm invested in waiting another year: have 100's of them!
here in CA they actually do overwinter but the second time it blooms kinda paltry, better to use seeds instead.
last year they had 5 foot flowers!! hard to NOT grow them after seeing that!!!
Yes there is a few foxgloves that are perennials because I have a couple. The perennials are usually the yellow ones. They don't grow as big and as lush looking as the biannuals ones.
:) Donna
I love my foxglove patches. They reseed for me every year and are such a beauty in my gardens. Here is a couple of recent pics of just some of my patches in the garden this year.
Here is the other pic.
Thanks everyone for all your input. Monica, thanks for the pictures! It has inspired me. Maybe I'll learn to like them so much I forget about their growing habit.
Beautiful pics Monica!
Thank you Badseed. :) Those foxgloves have really done a beautiful show for me. I had a garden full last summer but they doubled this time and we have really enjoyed them. I couldn't think of doing without them each year.
Kim, I know you would enjoy them once they got going in your gardens.
OK I'm Hooked :-D
Here is my foxglove patch this year!
That is beautiful!!!!!!!
Thanks, Kim. I had never been able to get them come back, and then, out of the blue, they naturalized under my Forest Pansy Redbud. Here's another shot.
Love IT!!!! ooo ahhhhh
Ok--who has what kinds of Foxglove seeds to trade?? The only Foxglove I ahve ever had bloomed this year. It looked yellow when it started to bloom but ended up white. Any other colors available?? No WONDER it didn't bloom last year. In fact, I didn't see anything at all happen so I thought it had not germinated!! But the foliage must for been coming up this year cause when I moved I dug all the plants I could see and this was among them!! Wow!! I LOVE it!! Unfortunately it has finished blooming and is the only one so far!! waaaaa!! Help???
Bonnie
I have LOTS of foxglove seed. You can have some. Don't know all the colors tthough...
Kim, I grow lots of different foxglove. Most are biennial, but as others have mentioned some are short lived perennials. D. grandiflora & D. lutea are yellow blooms. D. ferruginea is yellow and rust. D. lanata is cream and brown, D. parviflora is bronze/brown, and D. mertonensis is pink.
The biennial varieties are best planted where they can reseed themselves... somewhere you don't disturb the soil and kill the seedlings. I've got some heywoodii starts on the tables out there, if you want to try them. They have silver-gray foliage and pink flowers, but they seem less winter hardy here than the other purpureas, and a biennial that doesn't winter over is pretty useless to me.
Hmmmmmm.....have a question!! I have the digitalis "Foxy" mix. I did read that they don't bloom the first year, but mine did/are! I bought them as small plants in 2" pots at a greenhouse, in the perennial section. They're HUGE now, like gerberas on steroids and blooming alot!
So, do I have the perennial kind, the biennial kind or some sort of they-just-love-me-so and want to bloom type? lol
=) MKJ
Hi, MKJ. Foxy is a biennial, but is advertised to bloom the first year, if started early. Being a biennial, they will probably not come back next year, since they've already bloomed, but they will throw seed.
Ooooo Ahhhhhh... I'm really hooked now :-D
Kim, will you save me some seeds from this one? Apparently I only planted the white ones last year. LOL Hey, year before that, they were all peach (different place though).
Yup I sure will :-D
Ooh, thanks Weezins! I'll watch for the seed-throwing! I really like this plant.....so intricately different. =)
MKJ
Foxglove are plants often associated with those English cottage gardens. They do make a statement when planted to the back of a garden bed.
Well, I'll remember that--I always VERY seriously refer to my garden as an "English cottage garden" when my DH wants to know, "What ELSE are you putting in there??" =D I've tried to drill into his head that it's "supposed" to look like a rolling meadow garden, filled w/the "English-style" of everything!! lol
You know, he gets cranky, but when someone says, "Oh, what a beautiful garden/patch/plant," he always responds with, "Oh, we work really hard at it. Thanks!" Weiner.
=) MKJ
Yes, these men of ours may score a flower or two in our gardens, but they usually harbor a bit of pride and more than a bit of interest.
Weezingreens, I've tried growing the colored foxgloves and the only one that will come back is my yellow perennial one.
Your's are beautiful!
:) Donna
Yes, the problem is that many are biennial. If they can't survive their first winter, they don't return to bloom and throw seed. I have heard that 'Foxy' will bloom in the first year if started early indoors. It is not as tall as the Excelsior mixes, but you might give it a try, Donna.
Thanks, Weezin. So which ones do you have? Do you grow new ones each year or do they overwinter for you??
:) Donna
My DH grew them from seed back in '93 and we've had them ever since. They just keep on reseeding. You can move them as tiny babies or even three inches wide, just don't move them the year you want them to bloom. I'll try to take photos tomorrow.
IRMALY: GREAT PHOTO AND GREAT STAND OF FOXGLOVE!
The picture I posted was taken at a friend's house. She has a stand of them against her house that reseed and winter over for her. I believe they were originally from Excelsior Mix. I start most of mine indoors early in the spring. I've started Excelsior, Foxy, Pam's Choice, Primrose Carousel, Apricot, Silver Fox, Champagne Bubbles, Glittering Prize, Pure White, and others I've forgotten, I'm sure. Those are just the biennial types.
For perennials I've started D. grandiflora & D. lutea, D. ferruginea, D. lanata, D. parviflora,D. mertonensis, D. Spaniflora & Flashing Spires. The last two were seeds from Chilterns and the names are questionable. Wintering over is always a problem for me. I believe it is because our winters are so wet here. The 2nd year plants can crown rot in the early, wet springs.