How to Grow and Care for Foxgloves

Brightly colored, bell-shaped foxglove flowers look just as good in the ground as in container gardens and are easy for both amateur and expert gardeners to grow at home.

"Foxgloves are versatile plants that add drama, color, and vertical interest to the garden," says Adam Dooling, curator of outdoor gardens and herbaceous collections at the New York Botanical Garden. "They can be used in a variety of settings, from conventional beddings to mixed perennial borders, wild plantings, and container displays."

Before adding these plants to your spring garden, it's important to understand their growing needs, blooming schedule, and—most critically—their toxicity. "Knowing their nature, and how to best utilize them, will reward the gardener sevenfold—sometimes with seedlings in the most unexpected of places," says Dooling. "This spontaneity is part of the joy of growing foxgloves." Our experts give you the basics of how to grow and care for foxglove perennials.

What Makes Foxgloves Toxic

Foxglove plants contain digitoxin, a medicinal compound that affects the rhythm of the heart. "Digitoxin is similar to digitalis, a commonly used heart medication, and digitalis is actually derived from the foxglove plant," says Kelly Johnson-Arbor, M.D., medical toxicologist and co-medical director of the National Capital Poison Center. "Ingestion of digitoxin from the foxglove plant can result in abnormal heart rhythms and irregular heartbeats, loss of consciousness, and death."

Digitalis works on cells in the heart—it's often prescribed to regulate the heart rhythms in patients with atrial fibrillation—but too much digitoxin can be fatal. "This medication has a very narrow therapeutic index, and small changes in dosing can result in significant toxicity," says Johnson-Arbor.

What Parts of Foxgloves Are Toxic?

The toxin appears in the leaves, flowers, and all other parts of the foxglove plant, and isn't mitigated by steeping or cooking. "The leaves are similar in appearance to baby spinach and comfrey; people have experienced significant illness and death after mistaking foxglove for these two plants," says Johnson-Arbor.

Johnson-Arbor recommends several simple safety precautions: planting foxglove at a distance from a vegetable garden, so there's no chance of confusing it with salad greens. Also, keep the growing plants or cut blooms out of reach of children and pets.

Symptoms of Foxglove Toxicity

"The initial symptoms of foxglove and digitalis poisoning may involve nausea, vomiting, and seeing yellow halos around lighted objects, says Johnson-Arbor. "Interestingly, some people think that Vincent Van Gogh was prescribed digitalis prior to his death, and this is why many of his paintings have vivid yellow halos present."

Touching a foxglove plant will not cause toxicity, but eating it can result in significant toxicity or even death, says Johnson-Arbor. "The best way to avoid getting poisoned by foxglove is not to eat it. Instead, admire this beautiful plant from afar," she says.

How to Plant Foxgloves

The Digitalis genus includes more than 20 types of plants and shrubs, but, says Dooling, "When people think of foxgloves, they are usually thinking about Digitalis purpurea, the common foxglove, native to Europe and found in most parts of the temperate world."

Dooling adds that the flowers of common foxgloves are tubular, often speckled but sometimes clear, and bloom in shades of purple, rose, pink, apricot, yellow, white, or bi-color. Here are the basics on how to grow and care for foxgloves in the ground or containers:

• Plant foxglove seeds or cuttings in areas with full sun or part shade.
• Foxgloves prefer well-drained soil that's not too wet or too dry.
• Stake foxgloves when stalks grow tall, especially when used in container displays as stunning vertical elements, says Dooling.
• Look for blooms in the late spring that last for two to three months. "The foxgloves' bloom period from late spring to early summer means they will provide color to overlap between your spring bulbs and summer-blooming perennials," says Dooling.
• Add foxgloves to pollinator gardens. "They are a favorite of Lepidoptera—the order of moths and butterflies—so they will also add value to the wildlife in your garden," he adds.

Caring for Biennial Foxgloves

Common foxgloves are biennial plants, which means that, unlike perennials, which come back each year, and annuals, which last only a single season, the plant takes two years to fully flower before finishing its life cycle. "Most people misunderstand the nature of foxgloves, expecting them to behave as their perennial plants would and reliably bloom year after year," says Dooling. Here are the basics of caring for biennial foxgloves:

Foxglove Care in the First Season

Look for your plant to grow "a rosette of foliage in its first season before developing tall spikes of large, bell-shaped flowers in the second season," says Dooling. "First-year rosettes can be moved throughout the season easily, so you can enjoy their flowers the next season where you want them."

Foxglove Care After the First Season

Between the first and second season, the plants need to spend four to six weeks at temperatures between 38°F and 45°F to encourage new flowers—a process called vernalization.

"Many outdoor garden conditions will provide this, provided there is ample drainage and protection from winter damage," says Dooling. If you're hoping to grow foxgloves that mimic the dramatic versions at flower shows or botanical gardens, though, you'll need a controlled setting, like a greenhouse or a specific cultivar.

"In recent years, many new cultivars have entered the market that do not require vernalization, making them easier to grow—an amenable choice for both growers and the home gardener that does not have a range of greenhouses," says Dooling.