Digitalis ferruginea Gigantea - Foxglove

Digitalis ferruginea Gigantea is a short-lived perennial. It offers densely packed flower spikes of golden brown trumpet-shaped flowers arranged in spikes in July-August. The brown petals are veined with darker red inside. Its evergreen leaves arranged in a rosette are narrow, oblong-lanceolate, glabrous on the upper side and downy on the underside.

The Rusty Foxglove can behave as a biennial, but its tendency to self-seed makes it perennial in the garden. Even though the Rusty Foxglove is a woodland plant, it thrives just as well in sunny to partially shady borders, as long as they are not too hot, in a humus-rich, moist to dry, well-drained soil. It also tolerates limestone. Their rigid and upright appearance is irreplaceable in scenes where roundness and stiffness oppose and complement each other.

Digitalis ferruginea Gigantea allows you to recreate a woodland atmosphere, so you can combine it with grasses, ferns, and Astrantias. In the background of a border, its shallow root system allows it to be placed behind roses or perennials such as Italian Bugloss, Silver Candles, or Asters. Its graceful and light appearance makes it suitable for natural scenes in partial shade.

Like all foxgloves, it is highly toxic if ingested, but not by contact. It contains an alkaloid, digitalin, still used today for the treatment of heart diseases.