Digitalis Silver Fox Improved Seeds - Foxglove

The Foxglove 'Silver Fox Improved' is a biennial that flowers in its first year from seed. This low-growing variety bears long spikes of white and champagne pink flowers with plum-stippled throats. 

Digitalis purpurea is the typical species that we encounter in clearings, on the edge of woods or simply off path, in a spot where the forest is less dense. It is a biennial or sometimes ephemeral perennial of the family Scrophulariaceae, that forms a basal clump, measuring 20 to 40cm wide in the first year. In the second year, it sends up big floral spikes that can reach up to 2m. The plants then naturally reproduce themselves through self-seeding.

Foxglove is very recognizable by its finger-shaped flowers, a shape that has prevailed with its scientific and common names: lady’s glove, fairy glove, finger flower. The flowers come in the form of tubular corollas 4 to 5cm long, made up of fused petals that usually hang down, slightly curving upward at their ends to reveal a decorative throat.

Digitalis purpurea heywoodii 'Silver Fox Improved', derived from Digitalis purpurea, bears corollas that are noticeably more flared that those of the species type. Its silvery grey-green foliage contrasts nicely with plants with green leaves. It produces huge, white and champagne pink bells with plum-stippled throats from June to August. The blooms open along the spikes, starting at the bottom and provide bees and bumblebees with nectar.

Reaching 75cm in height once mature, the foxglove 'Silver Fox Improved' is ideal in coloured drifts on the borders of beds or to delineate the different areas of small gardens. It is very undemanding in terms of soil although it prefers humus-rich soils. It thrives in moist areas but does not tolerate waterlogged soils. Place it in partial shade, at the edge of a wood, in a thin thicket or in an alpine garden, along with colourful Astilbe or Astrantia.

The foxglove flower has quite a bad reputation due to its toxicity. Used in white or black magic according to legends, all relate to the digitalin present in all parts of the plant. This substance was later proven to be a powerful cardio tonic that is still used in the medicine industry today, but only in infinitesimal doses.

Warning: seeds are meant for very experienced gardeners who are used to sowing very fine seeds. These seeds are as fine as dust and are barely visible to the naked eye.