Digitalis purpurea Gloxinioides Group

RHS Plant Profile

foxglove Gloxinioides Group

Synonyms

Digitalis 'Gloxiniflora'
Digitalis purpurea 'Gloxinioides'

Annual Biennial Herbaceous Perennial

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A semi-evergreen biennial or short-lived perennial, to 2m high in flower, with a basal rosette of hairy green leaves. Tall spikes of tubular, slightly ruffled flowers in a range of colours including pink, yellow and purple appear from May to July. Great for naturalising in shady borders

Position

Full sun, Partial shade

Soil Types

Chalk, Clay, Loam, Sand

Max Height

1.5-2.5 metres

Max Spread

0.1-0.5 metres

Size

Time to Maturity: 1–2 years
Max Spread: 0.1-0.5 metres
Max Height: 1.5-2.5 metres

Growing Conditions

Chalk Clay Loam Sand

Moisture: Moist but well–drained or Well–drained
pH: Acid or Alkaline or Neutral

Position

Full sun Partial shade

Aspect: East–facing or South–facing or West–facing
Exposure: Exposed or Sheltered
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): H7

Colour & Scent

Season	Stem	Flower	Foliage	Fruit
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter

Botanical Details

Family: Plantaginaceae
Native to GB/Ireland: No
Foliage: Semi evergreen
Habit: Columnar upright
Potentially harmful: TOXIC if eaten. Wear gloves and other protective equipment when handling TOXIC to pets - see the HTA guide to potentially harmful plants for further information and useful contact numbers
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: Accepted

How to Grow

Cultivation

Prefers fertile, moist, humus-rich soil, but will grow in most garden situations including full sun. Will flower in its first year from an early sowing. See foxglove cultivation for further advice

Propagation

Propagate by seed, sown in pots in a cold frame in late spring for flowering the following year. Seeds sown in January, in a protected environment at 15-18°C, may produce flowers in late summer of the first year

Suggested planting locations and garden types

City and courtyard gardens
Cottage and informal garden
Wildlife gardens
Flower borders and beds
Wall side borders

Pruning

Deadhead to encourage more flowers

Pests

May be susceptible to aphids and leaf and bud eelworm

Diseases

May be susceptible to powdery mildews, downy mildews and leaf spot