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  • AGM plants

    AGM plants have been through a rigorous trial and assessment programme. They are:

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    • Available to buy
    • Of good constitution
    • Essentially stable in form & colour
    • Reasonably resistant to pests & diseases
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Digitalis ferruginea

rusty foxglove

AGM plants

AGM plants have been through a rigorous trial and assessment programme. They are:

  • Excellent for ordinary use in appropriate conditions
  • Available to buy
  • Of good constitution
  • Essentially stable in form & colour
  • Reasonably resistant to pests & diseases
© RHS
Sold by 29 nurseries

  • Other common names rusty foxglove

  • Family Plantaginaceae

  • 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

  • Details D. ferruginea is a vigorous biennial or perennial forming a rosette of dark green lance-shaped leaves, with tall racemes of tubular bell-shaped yellow-brown flowers 3.5cm in length in summer

  • Plant range S Europe

Characteristics

  • Foliage Semi-evergreen

  • Habit Columnar/Upright

  • Toxicity Highly toxic by ingestion

  • Hardiness

    Hardiness ratings

    All ratings refer to the UK growing conditions unless otherwise stated. Minimum temperature ranges (in degrees C) are shown in brackets

    • H1a - Under glass all year (>15C)
    • H1b - Can be grown outside in the summer (10 - 15)
    • H1c - Can be grown outside in the summer (5 - 10)
    • H2 - Tolerant of low temperatures, but not surviving being frozen (1 to 5)
    • H3 - Hardy in coastal and relatively mild parts of the UK (-5 to 1)
    • H4 - Hardy through most of the UK (-10 to -5)
    • H5 - Hardy in most places throughout the UK even in severe winters (-15 to -10)
    • H6 - Hardy in all of UK and northern Europe (-20 to -15)
    • H7 - Hardy in the severest European continental climates (< -20)

    H6

Colour

Sunlight

  • Full Sun

  • Partial Shade

  • Full Shade

  • Aspect South-facing or North-facing or East-facing or West-facing

  • Exposure Exposed or Sheltered

Soil

  • Loam

    Loam

  • Chalk

    Chalk

  • Sand

    Sand

  • Clay

    Clay

  • MoistureWell-drained, Moist but well-drained

  • SoilLoam, Chalk, Sand, Clay

  • pHAcid, Alkaline, Neutral

Size

  • Ultimate height 1-1.5 metres

  • Ultimate spread 0.1-0.5 metres

  • Time to ultimate height 2-5 years

How to grow

Cultivation Will grow in almost any soil or situation except very wet or very dry; ideal site is a humus-rich soil in partial shade. A perennial but often treated as a biennial.

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 Flower borders and beds Cottage & Informal Garden

How to care

Pruning Cut back main flower spike as it fades to encourage the growth of flowering side shoots

Pests Can get aphids and leaf and bud eelworm

Diseases May be affected by leaf spots and powdery mildews

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