Description
Digitalis purpurea | ‘Suttons Apricot’ Foxglove
Foxglove, also known as Ladys Glove, is a large woodland wildflower that’s widely popular because of it’s dramatic form and color in the garden. Foxglove makes some of the best cottage garden and early summer garden plants and cut flowers.
‘Suttons Apricot’ is an exceptionally beautiful Foxglove variety that was introduced shortly after the 1900s. During the first year, it will grow into a large rosette of foliage. The second year the plants will shoot up a 5-6 ft tall upright, branched flower spike with apricot-pink bell-shaped flowers with ivory spotted throats that progressively open from the bottom to the top. If you remove the first main flower spike early it will encourage more ‘prince’ flowers from the base. May need staking.
Foxgloves are drought tolerant and thrive in sandy, well-drained soil and gravel. Full shade to full sun. Benefits from midday shade in the hottest regions. Dead-head for prolonged blooms.
Although it’s a biennial it acts (in a way) as a perennial by self-seeding each year. It’s best to direct sow seed outdoors during late winter/early spring rains however they can be started easily indoors as well. Foxglove will self seed freely, but some can revert to the wild color form, so pull out any seedlings with red stems if you want them to remain pure.
A variety of pollinators including honeybees, bumblebees, hummingbirds, butterflies and moths find it hard to resist the flower towers. Deer and pest resistant.
Caution: All parts of the plant are highly toxic if ingested.
Type: Perennial or short-lived perennial
Sun exposure: Part shade to full sun
Mature height: 3-6 ft
Mature width: 12-18 inches
Hardiness zones: 5-9