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quilt_mommy

Foxglove Volunteers in Zone 5/6?

quilt_mommy
13 years ago

I have read from other garden web members generally who are in zones 6 or 7 that their foxglove readily reseed. I think I may have some volunteers but to be honest I can't tell if they are little foxglove babies or rudbeckia babies because the leaves look similar to me this time of year until the foxglove starts shooting up and the rudbeckia start bushing out.

Have any of you in the NE Ohio area or similar zones had good experiences with your foxglove reseeding? Is there a trick or is it just luck?

Pictures welcome!!! ;)

Comments (14)

  • quilt_mommy
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    I thought I'd add a few pictures...these are the plants in question. I sure hope they are foxgloves, but I truly didn't think they reseeded so readily in this area. I adore foxgloves and if they have decided to reproduce happily in my garden I will be just tickled pink!

    {{gwi:644853}}

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  • flora_uk
    13 years ago

    Yes, those are foxgloves. You also have a nice crop of buckler leaved sorrel, Rumex scutatus .

  • ianna
    13 years ago

    foxgloves for sure.

  • natalie4b
    13 years ago

    I love foxgloves, too, and they usually come up this time of the year in bunches. I wait till get a little bigger, and then replant them wherever I want them. As a rule, they bloom the next year. In a meanwhile, the foliage is neat and lovely.

  • quilt_mommy
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Yay! I'm excited! Thank you!!!

    So these new babies probably won't bloom this year? Either way I'm so happy...here's a picture of Momma foxglove on the far left that these babies must have come from...

    {{gwi:620375}}

  • krycek1984
    13 years ago

    quilt mommy, I'm in Zone 6 in Cleveland right by the lake. I had countless foxglove volunteers this year...which is great! Surprisingly many of them survived the winter and are as green as could be. So i don't think it's uncommon in our area at all. The big determiner in our area is how much clay is in your soil. Foxgloves do not overwinter well in soil that does not have good drainage. Thankfully mine is pretty sandy but a lot of soil around here has a lot of clay.

  • spogarden
    13 years ago

    I think they will bloom this year. I have a lot of them, I like the plants that come back so nicely every year.

    My soil is 70% rock, we are close to the river, so drainage is great here. If we are lucky we have snow on the ground when it gets really cold, it protects them from a hard frost and they seem to survive better.

  • quilt_mommy
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Yay spogarden, I really hope so! :)

    The foxglove I planted in the garden has been my first experience with this plant, other than drooling over them in other gardens. So it's a little like Christmas seeing what will happen. Now when I planted the original foxglove I also planted one of a lighter shade of pink next to it...I'm curious to see which one reseeded. The light pink one apparently didn't make it over the first winter because I didn't see it return last year - unless one was biennial and other blooms every year? I have heard so many conflicting stories about what foxgloves do I just don't know what to expect. I have read from some that they bloom every other year while my Dad had foxgloves in his garden and he said his did bloom every year but were very short lived and died out after about 4 or 5 seasons.

  • newbiehavinfun
    13 years ago

    I love the mix of textures in your garden. What is the plant directly to the right of the foxglove? The foliage is so neat!

    In my limited experience, foxglove does not sprout true to seed. For example, volunteers of Pam's Choice have come up lavender instead of white with burgundy spots. This year I am spreading seed of Exelsior hybrid mix. Every year I add more foxgloves because I love them, but they are sadly short-lived. If the seeding works, it will be quite cheap to keep them going, though.

  • spogarden
    13 years ago

    I too had heard they were difficult to grow, but once mine got established they have slowly spread and are pretty easy to deal with. I have started transplanting the little ones to different areas. Now if I could get the delphiniums to do the same I would really be happy. Does any one know when is a good time to start seeds for delphiniums, warm or cold weather?

  • quilt_mommy
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Spogarden - UGH, delphiniums, I ADORE them but have had a hard time keeping them in my garden. I bought a traditional blue one that was either eaten or croaked over winter. Then I put in two cherry blossom delphinium and the same with those...they disappeared over winter to some mystery demise! I wintersowed some from seed but they didn't sprout for me, and I just sort of lost motivation to try again. I believe they need cold and a period of dark to germinate but I don't know much more than that. I hope someone else can give us both some hope! I am experimenting with larkspur this year to see if I can at least get something similar with that intense blue effect.

    newbiehavinfun - That would be fine with me, if they don't return true to the parent, as long as they return! I haven't seen an ugly foxglove yet. ;) Thank you also for the compliment on my garden! To the right of the foxglove is white gooseneck, and I too love the foliage but must warn you it seems to be pretty invasive in some gardens. It's aggressive in my garden and I may even pull it and replace it with something else...I actually started a thread on it! If I weren't so busy I suppose it could be manageable to maintain...but like ivy or mint you must really keep an eye on it.

  • loisthegardener_nc7b
    13 years ago

    I have to wintersow most of my foxglove every year. I mulch heavily, so nothing self-sows for me. When the little seedlings get big enough, I move them to wherever I want them to grow.

    There is a short yellow foxglove called Digitalis lutea, straw foxglove, that is a perennial for me. It has been growing in the same spot for 5 or so years now. I don't usually like yellow flowers but I like this one. Here's a picture.

    {{gwi:644858}}

  • quilt_mommy
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Lois - how beautiful! So delicate...and for a yellow, if you don't care for the bright intense yellows this is such a nice alternative. So delicate and romantic. Love! Thanks for sharing! :)

  • birchhill
    11 years ago

    Four years ago I bought some foxgloves from a nursery and planted them in an area with dappled shade. Those original plants must have self-seeded because every year since then I have found hundreds of seedlings growing in the same area. They seem to survive well into the fall and I always have expectations of them returning the next summer in full bloom. Sadly, they never do. Is it possible that the first-year seedlings are not surviving the winter and what I am seeing each year are actually new seedlings? What can I do to ensure their survival over the winter?

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