Lesson learned

Last summer I collected some seed from one of our Foxgloves (white one) and towards the end of summer I sowed some in a seed tray and left it in the 4 tier greenhouse over winter with a propogator lid on it. I just pricked out 50 plants yesterday into 3-4inch pots and still have half a tray left to dispose of (compost heap).

Lesson was:

a) Dont sow too many seeds, foxglove seeds are very tiny.
b) Dont let them grow on too big as they become entangled with each other (I've been busy and they where around 2-3 inches tall) and almost impossible to seperate without damaging them.

I have read or heard somewhere that seeds from White foxgloves dont grow and flower as white, can anyone confirm this and do you know what colour/s I should expect?

I'll keep some of the plants above but give the rest away to friends and family.

Steve...

 

I've heard this as well Steve. I think they revert to the original purple/pink colour.

 

Did you know that one foxglove plant produces something in the region of 3 Million seeds. I hope you didn't plant them all!

 

Beware that Foxgloves are poisonous - wash hands after sowing seed / pricking out / potting on etc. I doubt there is enough to do you much harm, but there is a possibility that you / others are allergic to it.

I think you will get a mix of colours, so might be worth putting them in a nursery bed to see what flowers you get, and then choosing the ones you like for a permanent position.

 

I keep ( laughingly because it takes some "keeping") the foxgloves to the back or the centre of the flower beds and I do have very good kids who like helping me in the garden so they know to stay away-if only because they may tread on some flowers. Foxgloves are outrageously promiscuous so as Kristen says there will be a mix-some of them will come up white and the only way to know is to plant them all and wait til they flower.

I'm wondering now about keeping a few of the white ones under glass away from the insects and pollinate them yourself using cotton buds. That should increase your ratio of white to non white.

But as Kristen quite rightly says, perhaps a small nursery bed would be a good project, you can get a myriad of beauties, from yellow, apricot, purple and all manner of markings.

 

I'm amazed when people talk about the rampantness (is that a word?) of foxgloves. I seem to kill them. No idea why - I have an ideal spot (or several) for them - dappled shade, moist but ok soil, but they just don't amount to much - and as for self seeding...humph!

A kind member on here sent me some of their young plants, so I hope this year will be different.

 

My foxgloves are in a very undisturbed, but shaded part of the garden, but haven't self seeded. Are there some that don't seed as prolifically? Surely all 3 million (well 6 million as I got two plants!) seeds didn't get eaten?!

Aaron - snap!

 

Aaron, are you using leaf mould? Maybe that's the key? I have shady spots, dappled shade with moist yet free draining soil under the oaks-so as you can imagine there are quite a few leaves rotted and rotting at any one time under them. It takes me ages to clear foxgloves out of it-it breaks my heart to pull them out-now I know where to send them.

Which reminds me-I haven't sent the ivy off yet been a bit snowed under I'll get to it today.

 

The dappled shade is provided by the neighbours Leylandii hedge, which sounds worse than it is. Like all Leylandii, its thicker at the top than the bottom, so the sun gets in just where my woodland and shade loving plants are. Maybe I need to add more leaf mould in autumn to that area?

Feel free to send any surplus seedlings my way. They do bloom, but not prolifically and they don't self seed.

I look forward to the ivy cuttings. Plenty of bare fences here for them to climb up!

 

I'm at a complete loss as to why at least some of them don't germinate.


You just let the flower heads die off don't you?

 

Foxglove seems to thrive in woodland and in hedgerows, so perhaps it prefers soil that is a bit starved by trees? I know from my experience that it thrives with minimal care in soil that isn't particulary good. One of my borders at home runs alongside a Leylandii hedge. Foxglove is about the only plant that flowers well in that patch.

 

If there is a leyllandii on the other side maybe it's too dry there. I'd be interested in trying to work this one out, they really self seed all over the place here.


edit, then Clueless comes in and ruins my logic. What could it possibly be then?

 

Too many cross postings!!

I would love to know. I might try then in another part of the garden (or kill the Leylandii!!)

 

To start from the beginning then, we know that native wildflowers thrive best where there is poor soil because of lack of competiton

What else? I can't think now I am trying to. I'm sure we can all work it out together if we put our heads together.

 

Yes, I haven't touched them, they are in soil that I have just left alone (trying to leave a part of the garden totally wild, thanks weeds! :D) and it is quite shady and still as it is behind the garage, so quite sheltered. They are not plants that I have lost a lot of sleep over, but just wonder they don't seem to want to colonise.