# Foxglove - What do I do with it?



## CivilJ (Apr 9, 2021)

I'm a nube to gardening/landscaping work. For Mother's Day, my wife brought home a Foxglove Camelot Rose for me to plant for her near our porch (partial sun). I don't even have a bed there yet. I was thinking of putting down some landscape fabric and using the same kind of rock that is already under the porch.

It is listed as a perennial, but does that mean it will bloom every year from the same plant, or does it rely on the dropped seeds? Do I have to worry about it spreading from it's seed droppings?

And, after doing a little research, I find out that it is highly toxic (the interwebs recommend wearing goggles and a dust mask when working around it!). Is it possible my wife is trying to kill me? Just kidding.


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## Lawndress (Jul 9, 2020)

It's a biennial. They die the year they bloom and theoretically self-seed so they work like perennials, but I didn't have any luck with mine. They usually make non-aggressive patches. The landscape fabric over grass is a bad idea in general and a worse idea with self seeding biennials.

It tastes so horrible that children practically never get poisoned, so unless you have a very specific sort of special needs kid, you don't need to worry. (This isn't true about all poisonous plants, though.)

If your wife wishes to kill you, the dog, or the kids, the castor bean plant is a much more highly recommended option. One bean can kill multiple people.


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## jabopy (Nov 24, 2018)

I've got foxgloves all round the garden, they self seed so l move the small plants to where I want them. A very useful plant.


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## Deadlawn (Sep 8, 2020)

I suppose if you handle the plant and then lick your fingers, that may be a problem. But you wouldn't do that, would you?

There are quite a few edible plants which have poisonous parts. Tomato plant foliage is poisonous. So is rhubarb foliage.

FYI, foxglove a.k.a. digitalis, was once used to treat heart conditions:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digitalis


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## Lawndress (Jul 9, 2020)

I should clarify that I'm pretty sure I put mine in too deep shade. That's why it didn't self seed properly.


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## Deadlawn (Sep 8, 2020)

Lawndress said:


> I should clarify that I'm pretty sure I put mine in too deep shade. That's why it didn't self seed properly.


They will thrive in full sun to part shade, but not full shade:

https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/common-foxglove-digitalis-purpurea/


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## Lawndress (Jul 9, 2020)

Deadlawn said:


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I have HIGH shade, so it's hit or miss what ends up doing well.  That's why I just try stuff and see if it works. Can you believe that Rudbeckia will grow, bloom, and even self seed and spread in my high shade???? It's much less dense than elsewhere, but it does grow and spread.

My failure with self seeding could be the dense leaves that I don't really deal with in that shady bed, too.


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## Deadlawn (Sep 8, 2020)

Lawndress said:


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Really? I thought rudbeckia prefers full sun.

There are some species of asters that thrive and bloom in full shade. And wild geraniums prefer and bloom in full shade. In fact they will go dormant early if in full sun.


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## Lawndress (Jul 9, 2020)

Deadlawn said:


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I know, right? I was shocked. But it's because it's high shade, not dense shade.

I currently am having success in that bed with daffodils, bluebells, hyacinths, grape hyacinths, astilbes, oriental lilies (adding asiatics this year), Japanese anemones (cost soooo much), peonies (much smaller in shade), native hydrangea, crabapples and cherries, the Rudbeckia, and reblooming day lilies. The bed is 100'+ long and it's a kind of entry bed, so adding anything to the mix costs a lot to get it in because I'm often buying a minimum of 20.


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## Deadlawn (Sep 8, 2020)

Lawndress said:


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Here is a great online store to research and buy both plants and seeds. You can set up filters like shade plants and much more:

https://www.prairienursery.com/plants-seeds/native-plants.html?botanical_product_type=516&filterApplied=1&light=318

Note that many are sold out for spring shipping (you really need to order in March or early April for spring shipping). You can order in summer to plant in early fall too.


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## Lawndress (Jul 9, 2020)

Deadlawn said:


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Thanks! I haven't had great luck with most online perennial companies because their plants are too small to take the beating before they get established in my huge beds where it is hard to baby so many. Anything that ships as a root does great, but only a couple of my mail order anemones made it past the first winter. Perhaps fall planting was a mistake for them.

I'm too much of a flake to grow things from seed unless they are direct sown. Maybe when the kids are gone.

Smokey's Daylilies were just amazing though. I think I've only lost one!


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## Deadlawn (Sep 8, 2020)

Lawndress said:


> Deadlawn said:
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Yeah, I hear you about seed starting. I never actually did that until this year. Being retired in a pandemic gives me more time for such things, LOL!

I am lucky enough to have a bed of anemones that was here before I bought the house. I have been taking small chunks of them and transplanting them into other beds. It's amazing how easily they take to their new homes. Water at transplant, water the day after, forget them. And they do spread. It could be they don't like fall transplanting. They sure do adapt to spring transplanting:

https://www.prairienursery.com/canada-anemone-anemone-canadensis.html

They will go dormant in hot dry weather, but they will come back the following year.

As far as daylilies, I have always preferred the old standard orange "road side" daylilies rather than the cultivars. It's hard to find them for sale because there isn't much money to be made on them. I managed to find some for sale on eBay at a great price.


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## Lawndress (Jul 9, 2020)

I love the "ditch lilies," but their display is so shortlived that I go for the rebloomers for that bed. It's kinda like a mini allee drive, so it's all repeating plants. I don't do that in my informal beds on the other side of the yard!

Btw, I've started sniffing my boxwoods. Will report when I detect cat pee! Lol.


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## Deadlawn (Sep 8, 2020)

Lawndress said:


> Btw, I've started sniffing my boxwoods. Will report when I detect cat pee! Lol.


Ha! I was at the nursery a couple of days ago. The smell was quite prominent when I was near the boxwoods. I think it's stronger when they are in the sun.


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