Gransnet forums

Gardening

Foxglove seedlings.

(23 Posts)
shysal Fri 04-Oct-19 09:23:07

I have a newish bed where I grew some Foxgloves for the first time, with which I was very pleased.
All over the surrounding soil are tiny seedlings, which I assume are from them, as I let the flower heads completely die off. I don't know what I should do with these. Will they survive the winter or should I prick some out and grow them on under cover? I know they are bi-ennial and may not flower next year, but I would like to get a succession growing.
Any advice would be welcome.

tanith Fri 04-Oct-19 09:28:18

If it were me I’d just leave them where they are. Maybe save some seeds from the dried out flowers heads and sow in pots in Spring in case none of your seedlings survive.

lemongrove Fri 04-Oct-19 09:31:59

Just leave them shysal as in the woods they just spread themselves naturally don’t they? We have a shady woodland bit in the garden ,and that’s what they do there.

NanTheWiser Fri 04-Oct-19 16:45:36

They are pretty tough, and should overwinter easily. I don't think they transplant very well, like many annuals and biennials.

Wheniwasyourage Fri 04-Oct-19 17:58:26

Yes, you could just leave them. We have foxgloves popping up in odd places every year, and our winters can be pretty cold with a lot of frost, so the foxgloves must be quite tough!

MamaCaz Fri 04-Oct-19 18:03:13

I find that as long as they are kept moist until their roots have time to re-establish themselves (easy with the rain at this time of year), foxglove seedlings transplant very well. I do this every year so that I can choose exactly where they will flower next year.

Resurgam123 Fri 04-Oct-19 18:20:20

Foxglove seeds will grow easily . They are very tough and you will probably have to dig out a lot of them. As they are so easy to grow.
You can pull them up with your hand.
(Try my garden right now. )

Washerwoman Fri 04-Oct-19 19:12:05

I just leave them.Then in early spring I move the healthiest ones I want around the beds to the position I want.They seem tough as old boots and this year we had a bumper display.

Whitewavemark2 Fri 04-Oct-19 19:23:46

I love foxgloves

BlueBelle Fri 04-Oct-19 20:51:32

I leave them they come up twice as much the next year

shysal Sat 05-Oct-19 09:11:52

Thank you everybody, I shall leave them to their own devices.

obag Sat 05-Oct-19 10:35:29

We have lots of Foxgloves in our garden that have sprung up even though we have never planted them, we just cut off the dead flowers in the autumn and more plants appear in spring. Beautiful FREE plants what a bonus.

Youcantchoosethem Sat 05-Oct-19 10:49:03

As lots of other PP’s just leave them in situ until you want them someone specific. They should overwinter fine. Just be aware that Foxgloves (Digitalis) are deadly poisonous so if you have GC’s visiting just be careful. They were widely used in medieval times for murder! Used now in very careful quantities for heart medicines. An amazing plant.

Davida1968 Sat 05-Oct-19 11:01:04

Another vote here just to leave them. I love foxgloves and in our new garden I managed to nurture some transplants from a friend. They did "take" and there are little plants in evidence now. A wonderful flower for the bees and I want lots of them.

Witchypoo Sat 05-Oct-19 11:08:17

I have a side garden that is barked over. Three years ago a couple of foxgloves appeared. I let them flower and seed. This summer the side garden is full of them ranging from white to purple and growing taller than my apex roofed shed. Beautiful. Done nothing to them and await next years glory

sarahellenwhitney Sat 05-Oct-19 11:18:20

I did not have much success growing my own foxgloves so resigned myself to appreciating what nature provides.Being those that grow in abundance without my help in the hedgerows around my property.

Anthea1948 Sat 05-Oct-19 11:33:52

I agree with tanith - I'd just leave them but take a few seeds, just in case. In our previous garden we had foxgloves for many year. They eventually died down to a single flower but for a couple of decades they'd given a lot of pleasure.

polnan Sat 05-Oct-19 11:51:50

I love foxgloves... I envy you, I have a small garden, and one plant... I do hope it sends me more plants next year!

Molly10 Sat 05-Oct-19 13:56:37

Yes, just leave them to naturalise. They are mainly biennial so often leaves the first year then flowers the next. All parts of the flower are poisonous if ingested. Care if you have curious children or grandchildren running round the garden.

Esmerelda Sat 05-Oct-19 15:53:24

They are totally hardy. If they are coming up in the wrong place just dig them up and move them next spring!

Grandmama Sat 05-Oct-19 20:15:08

They grow like weeds in my garden. The small ones coming up now, all over the place, will flower next year. Usually they flower only for one year and then die but if you cut the dead flower stalk off at the base and there are new green leaves you might get a second flowering the next year. I find they are not eaten by slugs and snails.

travelsafar Mon 07-Oct-19 08:51:39

I have the same with Hollyhocks in my garden, they appear in the most random places. I love them so just leave to do their own thing but i suppose if your Foxgloves are taking over, you will have to remove some of them.smile

shysal Mon 07-Oct-19 09:23:23

I was thinking of asking about Hollyhocks too. I 'stole' a few plants from the roadside in my village, which have thrived, but I had collected thousands of seeds the year before, which came to nothing.
I have no problem with seedlings taking over, I can easily thin them out, pot some up and advertise on Freegle.