How to Grow Wild Foxgloves: A Practical Guide from Seed to Flowers

Foxgloves are one of our most recognisable wildflowers, with tall spikes of tubular flowers that are particularly popular with bumblebees. They're a lovely choice for wildlife-friendly gardens and work especially well in informal borders, woodland edges and areas with a little shade.

Unlike cornflowers and field poppies, foxgloves are usually biennials. Sow them one year and they'll generally spend their first season producing a rosette of leaves before sending up their tall flower spikes the following year.

That means you need a little patience, but once foxgloves are established they can self-seed around the garden and you may end up with plants at different stages each year.

They're also useful because they don't demand your sunniest patch. Foxgloves are perfectly happy in partial shade, making them a good wildlife flower for parts of the garden where some annual wildflowers might struggle.

One important point: all parts of foxglove plants are poisonous if eaten, so bear that in mind when deciding where to grow them, particularly around children and pets.

Give them reasonable soil, a little moisture and somewhere they can settle in, and they'll largely get on with it.

When to Sow

Foxgloves are usually sown from May to July.

I like sowing them in late spring or early summer. This gives the young plants plenty of time to develop a good rosette of leaves before winter.

You can sow into pots or seed trays, or directly into a prepared nursery area outside.

Don't worry when they don't flower during that first summer. That's exactly what they're supposed to do.

The plant spends its first year getting established, then after winter it begins growing strongly again and produces its flower spike during late spring and summer.

If you want foxgloves flowering every year, sowing some in successive years is useful until you've got a population that is naturally self-seeding.

After that, they may sustain themselves as their seeds scatter around the garden. I allow them to selfseed and usually add a few extra plants each year to keep the population going.

How to Sow

Foxglove seed is incredibly fine, so don't bury it deeply.

Fill a tray or pot with seed compost, gently firm the surface and water before sowing.

Scatter the seeds thinly over the surface and don't cover them with a thick layer of compost. Foxglove seed benefits from light during germination, so gently press it onto the surface instead.

Keep the compost moist but not soaking wet.

Because the seed is so small, water carefully. A heavy watering can can move the seeds around or wash them into one corner of the tray.

You can also sow directly outside onto prepared soil. Remove weeds, rake the surface reasonably fine and scatter the seed thinly before gently firming it down.

Germination can take a couple of weeks or longer, so give the seeds time.

Once seedlings appear, keep them reasonably moist and make sure they aren't immediately overwhelmed by weeds.

Growing Seedlings On

Foxglove seedlings start off tiny but gradually develop into recognisable rosettes of leaves.

If you've sown in trays, move seedlings into individual pots or modules once they're large enough to handle.

Keep them watered as they establish, but don't leave the compost permanently waterlogged.

Young plants can be planted into their final positions later in summer or early autumn.

If you've direct-sown them and they're badly overcrowded, thin them to give the strongest plants room to develop.

By autumn, you're looking for a healthy rosette sitting fairly close to the ground.

It may not look particularly exciting at this stage. That's fine.

The flower display comes next year, and those fairly ordinary-looking rosettes can turn into remarkably tall plants once spring arrives.

Planting Out and Spacing

Foxgloves are quite adaptable when it comes to position.

They'll grow in sun, but partial shade is particularly suitable and reflects the sort of woodland-edge conditions where they're often found naturally.

They appreciate soil that holds some moisture but doesn't remain permanently waterlogged.

Space plants around 30–45cm apart.

That may look generous when you're planting small rosettes, but mature foxgloves can become substantial plants with tall flowering stems.

Water after planting and keep them watered during prolonged dry weather while they're establishing.

Foxgloves look particularly good planted in loose groups rather than carefully spaced in straight lines.

I also like allowing a few to appear naturally amongst other plants. They have a habit of choosing places for themselves, and sometimes they make a better choice than I would have done.

Growing On

Once established, foxgloves need very little complicated care.

Keep the area around young plants reasonably free from weeds and water during prolonged dry weather.

During their second spring, you'll notice the centre of the rosette begin to rise. The flowering stem then grows surprisingly quickly.

Tall foxgloves can reach well over a metre, depending on the type and growing conditions.

In sheltered positions they generally support themselves perfectly well. Plants in exposed areas may occasionally need some discreet support.

There's usually no need for lots of feeding. In reasonable garden soil, they'll grow perfectly happily without it.

Once they start flowering, leave them to the bees. Watching a bumblebee disappear almost completely inside a foxglove flower is one of the pleasures of growing them.

Watering and Feeding

Foxgloves appreciate more moisture than some of the cornfield wildflowers we've been growing.

Keep seedlings and newly planted rosettes watered while they're establishing.

Established plants will tolerate some dry weather, particularly in partial shade, but give them a thorough drink during prolonged dry periods.

Plants growing underneath trees can sometimes be drier than you expect because the tree roots are competing for moisture, so keep an eye on them.

There's generally no need for regular feeding in garden soil.

Very rich soil can produce lots of lush growth and tall plants that are more inclined to flop over.

A little organic matter on very poor soil is fine, but I wouldn't treat foxgloves like hungry vegetables.

They're another wildlife plant where sensible conditions matter much more than constant feeding.

Flowering and Wildlife

Foxgloves usually flower from May through July, depending on conditions.

The long tubular flowers are particularly well suited to bumblebees. You'll often see them crawling deep inside the flowers to reach the nectar.

The markings inside the flowers help guide visiting insects towards the nectar source, and a large foxglove can provide plenty of individual flowers on a single spike.

This makes them particularly useful in the Wildlife section because they offer a completely different flower shape from open flowers such as oxeye daisies and poppies.

That's one of the things I'd encourage in a wildlife-friendly garden: grow a mixture of flower shapes rather than expecting one type to suit every insect.

Foxgloves also give us useful height, creating another layer of planting amongst lower-growing wildflowers.

What to Do After Flowering

Once the flowers fade, long seed capsules begin developing along the stems.

If you want to encourage foxgloves to self-seed, leave at least some flower spikes standing until the seed has matured.

A single foxglove can produce an impressive amount of tiny seed.

Once ripe, that seed falls naturally around the parent plant and seedlings may appear in nearby gaps.

If you don't want quite so many foxgloves, cut some flower spikes down before all the seed is released.

You can also collect ripe seed yourself and sow it somewhere more convenient.

I tend to leave some and remove some. That gives the plants a chance to move around naturally without handing over complete control of the garden.

After flowering and setting seed, biennial foxglove plants usually die. That's normal — hopefully they've already left the next generation behind.

Common Problems

Slugs and Snails

Young foxglove seedlings and fresh growth can be damaged by slugs and snails.

Keep an eye on small plants during damp weather. Once foxgloves become larger, they're generally much better able to cope with a little damage.

Plants Not Flowering

If you've sown foxgloves this year and they're only producing leaves, don't panic.

Most wild foxgloves are biennial and aren't expected to flower until their second year. Look after the rosette and wait for next spring.

Plants Wilting

Foxgloves appreciate reasonably moist soil and can struggle during prolonged dry weather.

Give them a thorough watering when necessary, particularly young plants and those growing in dry soil beneath trees.

Tall Plants Falling Over

Flowering foxgloves can become very tall.

Plants in exposed positions may need some support, particularly during windy or wet weather. Avoid excessive feeding, which can encourage softer growth.

Leaf Spots

Foxglove foliage can occasionally develop spotting or become tatty, particularly later in the season.

Remove badly affected old leaves and give plants enough space for reasonable airflow.

Too Many Seedlings

Once foxgloves start self-seeding, you can sometimes end up with considerably more than you expected.

Thin seedlings while they're small or move young plants to other suitable parts of the garden. Just remember to wash your hands after handling them.

Foxgloves take a little longer than annual wildflowers, but they're worth the wait. Sow them one summer, let the rosettes establish and the following year you'll get those wonderful tall flower spikes. Leave a few to set seed and, with a bit of luck, the foxgloves will start deciding for themselves where they'd like to grow — usually with the bumblebees following close behind.