Foxgloves are a diverse group of flowering plants. The most widely recognized is the popular and extremely showy Digitalis purpurea. Many showy cultivars originate from this species and there are other attractive digitalis species as well. These plants are native to Europe, Asia, and northern Africa and are much loved for their alluring spires of tube-shaped blossoms.
It is important to note that plants in the genus Digitalis all contain a toxin that is highly poisonous if ingested. Never eat these plants or grow them around pets and children. The common foxglove and its varieties are also listed as noxious weeds in Washington, Oregon, and California. Avoid planting in the Pacific Northwest, or if they are, keep them in controlled situations where they won’t be able to escape cultivation.
If you prefer native species, or cultivars derived from native species, several plants in the genus Penstemon, also known as foxglove beardtongue, make excellent replacements for the European species. These lookalikes may not be quite as showy as the European ones, but they also won’t become weedy, and they aren’t toxic.
Regardless of which type you choose, you will be adding a showy and colorful, long-blooming flower to your garden. These plants are easy to grow and look wonderful in a cottage garden, perennial garden, or naturalized planting, where they can expand into small colonies. Another benefit of growing these perennials is that pollinators love them, especially bees and hummingbirds!
Read on to learn more about 19 uniquely beautiful varieties of foxglove and how you can use them in your garden.
Gloxiniiflora Blend Foxglove Seeds
‘Blackbeard’
‘Blackbeard’ is a beautiful purple cultivar of the native penstemon, also known as foxglove beardtongue. This herbaceous perennial has colorful foliage to add contrast to your pollinator garden and spring-blooming trumpet-shaped flowers. The lavender-pink flowers are a favorite of bees and hummingbirds.
‘Blackbeard’ grows best in full sun but also tolerates some light afternoon shade. Give it a garden location with moist, well-drained soil. In ideal conditions, these plants will self-sow, and you’ll soon have a ‘Blackbeard’ colony. It is easy to pull extra self-seeded plants. They can be vigorous without being too aggressive.
‘Candy Mountain’
‘Candy Mountain’ looks a bit like hot pink cotton candy on a stick. This eye-catching foxglove variety has plenty of curb appeal and reaches up to four feet tall, so you can see it from a distance! Hummingbirds and bees love these plants, and if you want to enjoy them indoors, they make excellent cut flowers.
Grow your ‘Candy Mountain’ as a highlight in your flower garden. These plants perform well in full sun but prefer some light shade, especially in warmer climates. Like most Digitalis species, this plant prefers rich, moist soil. If you can provide these ideal growing conditions, you can grow your own mountain of candy-colored blossoms.
Common
Common foxglove is an herbaceous biennial that originated in Europe and is widely cultivated with many showy varieties. In its first year, common foxglove grows a dense basal rosette of velvety lance-like leaves. In its second year, it develops a spectacular showy flower spike packed with colorful trumpet-like flowers. Bees and butterflies love the flowers, making this plant a welcome addition to a pollinator garden. After setting seed the second year, it dies back but easily reseeds itself.
While you may appreciate how quickly and easily common foxglove self-seeds, this plant has become invasive in some regions, particularly along the West Coast and the Pacific Northwest. If you choose to grow this plant, check with your state’s list of noxious weeds to be sure common foxglove is not listed. Avoid growing it if it’s included on the list. All parts of this plant are poisonous to consume.
Foxglove Beardtongue
If you like the look of the European varieties but prefer a native species, foxglove beardtongue comes from the grasslands and woodland margins of central and eastern North America. This easy-to-grow native plant makes a beautiful addition to your pollinator garden or perennial wildflower garden. The beardtongue is an herbaceous perennial that will form small clumps without becoming aggressive or invasive.
Grow your beardtongue in a lightly shaded location with rich, moist, well-drained soil. The trumpet-like white flower spikes bloom in the springtime and complement any other perennials nearby. For the rest of the year, the bright green to purple-tinged foliage lingers as a subtle but attractive basal rosette.
‘Foxlight Rose Ivory’
This elegant cultivar is more compact, reaching only one or two feet tall. It prefers warmer climates and stays semi-evergreen in ideal growing conditions. This is an excellent plant for a partially shaded border or cottage garden with organically rich moist soil.
‘Foxlight Rose Ivory’ blooms from late spring into early summer. Its delicate salmon-rose flowers are sure to delight and make excellent cut flowers. Hummingbirds and pollinators love the flowers, too, and your garden will be buzzing with pollinator activity.
‘Foxlight Ruby Glow’
‘Foxlight Ruby Glow’ features dramatic spikes of deep rose trumpet-shaped flowers with salmon-orange throats. Hummingbirds and honeybees will certainly come around to check out this abundance of nectar-rich flowers. Grow several plants in a cluster for an impressively colorful display, and to ensure extra stems for your cut flower arrangements.
This foxglove cultivar is a compact variety that thrives in warmer climates. In the first year, you’ll have a basal rosette of dark green toothed leaves. In the second year, enjoy those showy flowers on two-foot-tall stalks. Although nice to look at, these plants are toxic and should not be ingested in any form by people or pets. Deer and rabbits also won’t bother these plants.
‘Gelber Herold’
‘Gelber Herold’ is a rusty foxglove cultivar with unique flowers. The tall flowering spikes are packed with small, cuplike, creamy yellow flowers. Each flower has a prominent lower lip covered with a downy fuzz and striking burgundy red veining. Pollinators love these flowers and will visit frequently during their mid-summer blooming period.
Grow ‘Gelber Herold’ in a partially shaded location with rich, moist, well-drained soil. These plants aren’t drought tolerant and should be kept moist. As biennial plants, they display basal foliage during their first year and send up flowers in the second year. Plants freely self-seed. Without deadheading, they can easily become weedy. If the tall spikes become top-heavy, you can easily stake them to help them stay upright.
‘Husker’s Red’ Penstemon digitalis
If you’re on the lookout for a native species but perhaps want something a little flashier, try ‘Husker’s Red.’ This beautiful and easy-going perennial is a cultivar of the native penstemon beardtongue, but rather than having pure white flowers and green foliage, ‘Huskers Red’ has both purple flowers and purple foliage.
These natives have all the appeal of the European foxglove varieties but all the benefits of regionally-adapted plants. They bloom in the spring and have showy flowers and foliage. They are wildly popular with pollinators. And perhaps best of all, they aren not weedy or poisonous (though you still shouldn’t eat them).
Large Yellow Digitalis grandiflora
The large yellow Digitalis grandiflora is a short-lived perennial native to Europe. This variety has pale creamy, yellow flowers that develop along only one side of the flowering stalk. The trumpet-like flowers have a dense pattern of pale brown speckles inside and make beautiful cut flowers.
Grow this variety in a partially shaded location with rich, moist soil. This plant would make a lovely addition to an open woodland garden or park-like setting. The lightly toothed foliage forms basal rosettes and tends to stay evergreen, so you can keep track of your foxgloves even during the winter months. All parts of this plant are toxic and should not be ingested in any form.
‘Pam’s Choice’
‘Pam’s Choice’ has an eye-catching flowering display, blooming in late spring and early summer. The flowers of this cultivar are large and white with deep burgundy speckles in the inner tubes. These trumpet-shaped flowers will be a favorite of any pollinators that visit your garden.
Grow ‘Pam’s Choice’ as a highlight in your cottage garden or partially shaded woodland garden. Plants grow easily from seed and will readily reseed in ideal garden conditions. Remove spent flowers and unwanted seedlings to keep your garden plot tidy and share it with other beautiful perennials that bloom at different times of year.
Rusty Digitalis ferruginea
The rusty foxglove variety is an herbaceous perennial native to Europe. This easy-to-grow species is a short-lived perennial or biennial. It starts easily from seed, and once you have an established blooming plant, it will readily self-seed to form an attractive colony. These plants prefer partial shade with organically rich, consistently moist soil.
Digitalis ferruginea grows up to five feet tall, making it an ideal centerpiece for your perennial garden. The showy flower spikes bloom in late spring and early summer, attracting hummingbirds, bees, and other pollinators. Like other Digitalis species, this one is toxic and should never be ingested by people or pets.
‘Silver Fox’
‘Silver Fox’ is a versatile biennial or short-lived perennial that will look stunning wherever you grow it. These deer and rabbit-resistant plants add color and interest to your cottage garden, cutting garden, or mass planting. Choose a site with full sun or light shade and rich, moist, well-drained soil.
‘Silver Fox’ is a bit unusual because its foliage has a white velvety fuzz that gives it a silvery-green appearance. Even while not blooming, this cultivar adds a unique interest to your garden.
The creamy white tubular blossoms appear from late spring into mid-summer. Leave some outside for the hummingbirds and pollinators, and cut a few stems for your next bouquet. These plants readily self-seed in ideal conditions and may become weedy if not managed.
Small Digitalis lutea
Small foxglove, also known as the small yellow or straw foxglove, is a beautiful plant with small, creamy yellow spires. The dainty blossoms are loosely arranged along tall flowering spikes. They attract an assortment of pollinators and hummingbirds.
This plant prefers a partially shaded location and grows well in a woodland garden or in the afternoon shade of a building or taller plants. It needs moist, rich soil and isn’t bothered by deer or rabbits. The long-blooming flowers make an excellent addition to your cutting garden and indoor flower arrangements.
Small-Flowered Digitalis parviflora
The small-flowered foxglove has small blossoms but a huge impact. This plant grows only two feet tall with impressively dramatic spikes that bloom from late spring until mid-summer. The flowers are coppery brown and tubular with a couple of prominent, pollen-rich, yellow stamen protruding slightly from the top of the flower.
These plants would look great growing along a sunny border, surrounded by a variety of other colorful annuals or perennials. Digitalis parviflora is a short-lived perennial. After plants bloom and set seed, they die back completely. In an ideal location with rich, moist soil, they will most likely reseed themselves profusely, so you will soon have a naturalized colony.
‘Spanish Peaks’
‘Spanish Peaks’ is a compact cultivar with vibrant rose-pink blooms. The large vase-like flowers have a long bloom period and appeal to hummingbirds and pollinators. The soft green leaves are evergreen and add year-round interest to your garden.
Grow ‘Spanish Peaks’ in any sunny site with well-drained soil. Deadhead your plants after flowering to prevent them from self-seeding and spreading throughout your garden. Use them in your rock garden, cottage garden, or pollinator garden for an early-summer blast of color.
Strawberry Foxglove
Strawberry foxglove is a mid-sized variety that does well in a lightly shaded plot with consistently moist soil. This hybrid is a cross between the common and the large-flowered species. Like its parent species, it is a short-lived perennial that is toxic if ingested.
The strawberry variety has beautiful light dusty rose flowers that bloom in late spring. Hummingbirds, bees, and other pollinators love this cultivar. The broad bright green leaves form attractive basal rosettes that persist throughout the growing season. The leaves are slightly toothed and covered with short, soft hairs, giving them a slightly soft and fuzzy look and feel.
‘Sutton’s Apricot’
‘Sutton’s Apricot’ is a lovely cultivar with creamy soft pink flowers that have subtly red-freckled throats. You’ll have these showy flowers blooming throughout the summer in your partially shaded garden plot. Give them a location with rich, moist soil as they aren’t tolerant of arid conditions.
If you enjoy cut flowers, you’ll want to have ‘Sutton’s Apricot’ for your cutting garden. Grow several plants in a group for a spectacular display so you’ll have some to share with the hummingbirds and honeybees.
When not blooming, enjoy its rosettes of soft pale green leaves. Like many foxglove varieties, this cultivar is a short-lived perennial that re-seeds itself for a long-lasting addition to your garden.
‘Alba’
This white cultivar is sometimes sold as ‘Alba’ or ‘Albaflora.’ As the name suggests, its spires have pure white blooms with dark freckles on the lower throat. The erect spikes are lined with many large blossoms that appeal to all the pollinators who visit your garden.
Grow ‘Alba’ in a sunny location with rich, moist soil. As a taller plant, grow it in the center or rear of your perennial garden. When grown in larger groupings, it creates a stunning display in late spring and into early summer. Deadhead the spent flowerheads to prevent unwanted spread or you may find yourself with more than you want.
Willow Leaf
The willow leaf species looks a bit different from some of the others. This showy perennial is native to Spain and is easily recognized by its long narrow leaves. The yellow and orange blooms are more sparse than common foxglove and have throats mottled with yellow and dark red-orange. Remove spent blossoms to keep your plants looking tidy and reduce unwanted self-seeding.
Digitalis obscura is more tolerant of dry soils and will perform well in average-quality, well-drained soil. It still appreciates soil moisture but doesn’t require constantly moist to wet soil conditions. These plants are an attractive addition to your pollinator garden and hummingbird garden.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can grow foxglove plants in containers and raised beds. In fact, growing in containers and beds can help keep these vigorous plants well-contained. Most varieties of foxglove need consistently moist soil so you’ll just need to be sure to water your plants regularly to ensure they get the moisture they need.
Most species of foxglove perform well in partial shade but full shade might not provide enough sunlight for your plants to flower. Your plants may grow and produce leaves but you are probably growing them specifically for their beautiful flowers which require some daily bright sunlight in order to bloom.
If you are growing foxglove in your woodland garden or under some trees, just make sure they are in a spot that receives at least two to four hours of sunlight each day.
Foxgloves have a habit of self-seeding freely and multiplying rapidly in ideal conditions. The cool, moist environments along the west coast seem to be an ideal habitat for foxgloves of the species Digitalis.
These plants have been identified as weedy and invasive in Washington, Oregon, and California. If you live in the Pacific Northwest, grow foxglove with caution. Deadhead spent flowers to prevent them from self-seeding or spreading beyond your control.
