Foxglove is a very popular gardening plant. People love it for the stunning beauty it displays by forming a rosette in the first year, and the following year, beautiful flowers.
If you love birds, adding Foxglove to your garden would be wise. This plant is among the plants that attract hummingbirds, types of bees, and butterflies, adding more color to the garden.
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The use of the Foxglove Plant goes beyond ornamental. It is also grown for the extraction of digoxin used in the manufacturing of heart medicine.
However, do not assume that this can be done at home. All parts of the Foxglove Plant are poisonous; ingesting them can be fatal for humans and pets.
In fact, it’s a natural repellent for deer or rabbits.
Foxglove Facts
Here are some interesting Foxglove facts you should know:
- The name “Foxglove” originates from the idea that foxes wore flowers on their paws while hunting. This would allow them to sneak on prey as they would walk without making a sound.
- All parts of Foxglove are poisonous when ingested by humans and pets. However, insects such as bees, hoverflies, and butterflies are unaffected.
- Despite the poison, Foxglove is an essential plant in medicine. It’s used in the manufacturing of heart disease medication and DNA testing.
- Most species of Foxgloves are biennials, but some are perennials.
- A Foxglove can have 20-80 flowers.
- A Foxglove Plant produces about 2 million seeds in its lifetime.
- Biennial Foxglove Plants bloom in their second and final year of life.
How To Identify Foxglove Plant
Foxgloves are tall showy plants known for their bell-shaped blooms.
There are many types of Foxglove flowers, different in size and flower colors.
However, if you have flowers in your garden and wonder if they are Foxgloves, look for the following general characteristics traits as guidelines on how to identify Foxglove plants.
Foxglove Leaves
Foxglove leaves form a rosette at the base of the plant. The leaves are large, medium to dark green, with visible veins.
They are lance-shaped with a fuzzy texture and can have whitish or grayish tints on the underside.
Foxglove Stem and Height
After forming a rosette foliage in the first year, Foxglove will send up a tall, erect stem of about 3 to 5 feet.
The stem is usually sturdy and reddish.
Foxglove Flowers
A dense spike will form with many flowers at the top of the stem. The flowers are pendulous, tubular, and bell-shaped.
They have a wide mouth with spots inside the throat. Foxglove colors are different depending on the cultivar.
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They can be pink, purple, white, brown, blue, or yellow.
The blooming period starts from late spring to mid-summer. During this time, you will see a lot of pollinators, including bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.
Foxglove Seeds
Foxglove flowers produce seed capsules once the flowers are pollinated. The capsule has many tiny dark brown to black seeds.
Their shapes differ and can range from round to angular. The capsule usually opens when it is mature to release the seeds for self-seeding.
Toxicity
While this is not the best way to identify the plant, please note this plant has toxic compounds like digitalis glycosides.
It’s dangerous when ingested.
Types of Foxglove
There are about 117 types of Foxglove Plants. Their main differences are usually the types of flowers they produce, the leaves’ shape, and their best-growing zone.
While most varieties are biennials and will die after dropping seeds in their second year of life, there are also short-lived perennials, Foxglove Plants. See the difference below:
Foxglove Perennial Flowers
If you are looking for Foxglove perennials that will flower for more than two years, then you are in luck. Most Foxglove Plants below flower every year, and some take a short time to start flowering.
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