Growing Foxgloves

Overview

If you are looking for a unique focal point for your flower beds, the height, color and texture of foxglove are real eyecatchers. The biennial flower propagated by its seeds and doesn't require a lot of care. In the right conditions, foxglove will bloom in the early summer and again in later summer. You can plant the seeds anytime from spring to late summer, as long as they have a chance to root before fall frosts.

Growing Foxglove in your garden

Step 1

Plant foxglove seeds toward the rear of your flower bed, since the plants grow quite tall (3 to 4 feet). They do best in partial shade as long as they get regular water during dry periods in summer. Clear the area that you will be planting of leaves and debris and rough up the soil with the hand rake to a depth of about an inch.

Step 2

Space out the seeds so that they aren't planted too closely. The seeds are tiny, and you should try to plant no more than one or two seeds in a 3-inch area. This will give you a dense growth of seedlings. When they have grown about 2 inches tall you should thin them out to one plant per 6 inches. Transplant the seedlings that you take out to other locations if desired.

Step 3

Cover the seeds with soil and press down the soil so that the seeds have good contact. Water the area. Keep the soil damp for proper germination but don't over water because it could make the seeds rot.

Step 4

Saving seeds is an easy process of waiting until the bloom has gone and the seed pod turns brown. Save these seeds and plant elsewhere or let the plant regenerate itself. To have plants in the same area year after year, let the seeds fall where they may.