More foxgloves

Mine aren't as tall as usual this year. Partly weather, but perhaps a bit of hanky panky on the part of the seeds, too! LOL! anyway, I really enjoy this flower.

penny4. that is so pretty. I have a bunch in a row too... I am still waiting for them to show their faces!

Do yours self-seed every year, Penny?

Yeah, Weez, they do. That's why there is such an odd mix! :) They do what they like. And I'm finding more and more foxglove all over the property now. They seem happy here in the plot with the "high acid" greenery, I guess since they grow wild at the edge of forests, etc. The new hybrids that are different colors seem to find mates with this wild bunch, and the off spring more resemble the wild parent! I just did my first plant trade, and I got five little fox glove plants in the mail yesteday!! Three are the smooth leaved ones, and two are the tall yellows, so I think I will try to put them away from the group pictured above, and see if they will stay "true." What do you think?

my first time I planted 13 of them . They looked sickly. I had them in a shade garden. Moved them. now. they are part sun/shade. What are yours in.

Penny

Great glove pic :)

The 3 trade gloves sound like they are a different species if the leaves have no hairs on them (any more info?) and probably won't cross with the D purps. They are also perennials rather than biennials.

Well, Baa, I am told they are Grandiflora. Does that make sense? I think they are the perennials, as I had one similar to these, but lost it somehow. :-( They all look very healthy, and will most likely bloom well next year. Stormy19 sent them and said that all the seeds came up really well for her this year.

Mingsmimi, these reseed themselves every year. Some of the plants remain "evergreen" thorughout the winter here. That makes it easy to find them and move them around. I have mine in an area that is mostly sun. Between an aggregate cement patio and a couple of Rhododendrons. But then this climate I am in is fairly mild, and it rarely gets over 75 here. EXCEPT TODAY!!!! It is hotter than blazes here today - a two day heat wave. Miserable in the 90s. I think I am heading out to our travel trailer to enjoy the air conditioner out there! HA! I'm about ready to get a ticket to Alaska and go help Weez out up where it is tolerable!! ;)

D grandiflora (syn ambigua) is a great species isn't it! Perennial foxgloves will take it upon themselves to die for no apparent reason, and seemingly at will. I hope these give you a couple of good years flowering before they decide to join their relatives :)

penny4...what kind ARE these pretty deep pink ones?

Everyone are posting pictures of great foxgloves and I only have got small buds in my Digitalis lutea :(

This message was edited Thursday, Jun 13th 8:16 PM

Evert, give it time; you are much further north than I. When yours bloom, I will be missing mine and longing for their beautiful color and stature in the gardens! And then you will post photos of yours, and I will post my dahlias!! :-) I'll tell you, Evert, it is over 90 F here today and I am miserable!!!! I do not like heat and would be happy to be in Finland today!!

Mingsmimi, I am ashamed to tell you that I have no idea what they are! When I took this photo, they were only about 4ft tall. Now two of the taller varieties are up to about 6ft! They seem to be a mix of the various digitalis plants I have purchased in the past four years. I am learning about how they tend to mix together, so that is interesting. But some of those "fancy hybrids" I bought a few years ago have mixed it up with some of the more common varieties and I have a mish mash. I think what I need to do is to post a few close ups of these different ones on ID and see if someone can give me an idea of what is here.
Also they grow wild all around me and up and down our road, so I guess they live where they are comfortable! ;-)

These flowers of ours have got to learn to keep their petals together! How are we ever to know what to expect when they just keep opening up to any old bee that happens along.

I am not sure if you would like to be here today. It is raining and +15 C... I wonder do I have any plants big enough to bloom. I have seedlings but i think they are too small. So I will propapbly see just yellow foxgloves this year =)

Yes, Evert, it's been cold an rainy here for about a week or more, but today we had sunshine and rather hot weather. It seems to be the summer of extremes. I hope the weather improves and your seedlings get big and tall.

Warm day here today as well.. +22 C in shade, hot in sun. I have hair colouring in my head, ughh.. still have to wait 30 minutes. :/

What color you doing? That' s what I do too. for a living. And a hobby!

Ah, Evert, I'll bet it's something quite unusual like green or hot pink... maybe a bright yellow or blonde, so as not to upset the older folk like us!

I had a glorious display from my foxgloves and want seeds to plant from them. How long does it take for them to make seeds? They look real skraggly right now after being so beautiful in bloom. If I cut the stalks off and save them, will the seeds go ahead and dry or do I have to leave them alone until the seeds are ready? It was my first year to have them and I dearly loved them. They were tall and very full. Any helpl will be appreciated. Thanks, Lou

Lou - you don't have to wait for all the pods on the stalk to turn brown. I usually cut them when half the pods have turned. I tip the stalks upside down into a container and bring them in to dry completely. Laying them down on a cookie sheet works good too. After they've dried I shake them around to dislodge all the seeds. The pods at the top of the stem may not mature but you'll get plenty of seed from the rest of them. The seeds is really tiny - smaller than poppy seeds. If the plants in your garden are an eye soar you may want to cut most of them back and just save a few stems for seed collecting. They make a ton of seed so you don't need to save them all.

Thanks Poppysue! That's what I needed to know. It is so great to be able to go to DG and get answers. Everyone is so helpful! Lou