Not edible
All parts are poisonous: the heart toxins (cardiac glycosides) can be fatal if eaten. Never eat it or use it in home remedies; its leaves have been mistaken for comfrey and borage. Toxic to dogs, cats and horses. Keep children and pets away from it. The leaves may irritate sensitive skin.
Foxglove
Digitalis purpurea
Plant out around your last spring frost. Space plants 18 in (46 cm) apart.
Photo: Dominicus Johannes Bergsma, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
When to plant
Timed from your frost dates, so it holds wherever you garden. Give yours and every step below becomes a date.
Optimal Transplant
From a plantRecommended from a plant- Plant outaround your last spring frost
- First harvestabout 10 months after planting out
Optimal Direct Sow (Bloom Next Year)
From seedRecommended from seed- Sow outdoors10 weeks before your first fall frost
- First harvestabout 75 days after next spring's last frost
Optimal Indoor Start (First-Year Strains)
From seed- Start indoors10 weeks before your last spring frost
- Begin hardening off1 week before your last spring frost
- Plant outaround your last spring frost
- First harvestabout 140 days after sowing
Growing foxglove
- Spacing in the row
- 18 in (46 cm)
- Between rows
- 24 in (61 cm)
- Planting depth
- Surface sow; press in and do not cover (needs light to germinate)
- Sun
- Full Sun to Part Shade
- Soil
- Moist, well-drained, rich in organic matter; slightly acidic
- Germination
- 14-21 days at 60-70°F
- Harvest season
- Late Spring to Early Summer
- Mature height
- 2-5 feet
- Support
- Stake tall varieties.
- Hardy to
- USDA zone 4
- Life cycle
- Biennial
Surface sow and do not cover. Sow in late summer for flowers next year, or start first-year strains indoors in late winter.
Watering. Keep the soil evenly moist; do not let it dry out, since drought stress reduces flowering.
Feeding
- How often
- Once a year, in early spring. For this biennial the feed that counts is in its flowering (second) year: a light slow-release or compost mulch as growth resumes; heavy nitrogen gives leaves instead of spikes.
Your foxglove, planned to the day.
Canopy turns these timings into dates from your own frost data, places every plant at its spacing on your garden map, and tracks it all the way to harvest.