Not the plant you're looking for? Search over 300,000 plants
Herbaceous Perennial

Digitalis viridiflora
  • RHS Plants for pollinators

green foxglove

A perennial species, 60-80cm tall, with tough, slender, downy stems and rosettes of lance-shaped green leaves. Greenish-yellow flowers have dark veins and are carried in long dense spikes, 1.2-1.8m tall, from early to midsummer

Buy this plant
Size
Ultimate height
0.5–1 metres
Time to ultimate height
2–5 years
Ultimate spread
0.1–0.5 metres
Growing conditions
Chalk
Clay
Loam
Sand
Moisture
Moist but well–drained, Well–drained
pH
Acid, Alkaline, Neutral
Colour & scent
StemFlowerFoliageFruit
Spring Green
Summer Green Yellow Green
Autumn Green
Winter
Position
  • Full sun
  • Partial shade
Aspect

South–facing or North–facing or West–facing or East–facing

Exposure
Exposed or Sheltered
Hardiness
H6
Botanical details
Family
Plantaginaceae
Native to the UK
No
Foliage
Deciduous
Habit
Clump forming
Potentially harmful
TOXIC if eaten. Wear gloves and other protective equipment when handling
Genus

Digitalis can be biennials or usually short-lived perennials forming a rosette of simple leaves with bell-shaped flowers in slender, erect, usually one-sided racemes

Name status

Correct

Plant range
Balkans

How to grow

Cultivation

Grow in any well-drained or moist but well-drained soil in sun or part shade

Propagation

Propagate by seed sown in pots in a cold frame in late spring or propagate by division in early spring

Suggested planting locations and garden types
  • Gravel garden
  • City and courtyard gardens
  • Coastal
  • Cottage and informal garden
  • Wildlife gardens
  • Flower borders and beds
Pruning

Cut back main flower spike as it fades (unless seedlings are required) to encourage the growth of flowering side shoots

Pests

May be susceptible to aphids and leaf and bud eelworm

Diseases

May be affected by a leaf spot and powdery mildews

Get involved

The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK’s leading gardening charity. We aim to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place.