Digitalis purpurea Alba - Foxglove

Digitalis purpurea 'Alba' is the self-seeding form of the foxglove found in our woodlands, with white flowers. This variety forms beautiful densely packed spikes of white-cream tubular flowers, with the throat subtly speckled with pale yellow or pink. The plant also develops a rosette of beautiful slightly hairy leaves in a silver-grey green colour. Its enchanting flowering is a delight for the eyes in flower beds or in romantic bouquets. Spectacular and refined, this foxglove complements all other plants.  It is easy to grow, except in soils that are too chalky and dry, and it will surprise you by self-seeding wherever it pleases!

Digitalis purpurea Alba is a plant from the Plantaginaceae family. It is a biennial to perennial plant, developing a rosette with a diameter of 40 cm (16in) from spring onwards, with pubescent leaves, dark green tinged with silver-grey, serrated-dentate, with a lower surface that is networked and wrinkled. They are covered with slightly woolly, very light hairs, responsible for the greyish hue of the lamina. In the second year, in May-June, several hollow but sturdy stems emerge from the rosette to carry a dense floral spike up to 1 m (3ft) in height, composed of a multitude of tightly packed tubular flowers. Each very pale yellow bud opens up into a long white-cream tubular flower sometimes tinged with pale pink, then white, with the entire spike forming a soft gradient from very pale yellow to white, from top to bottom. The flowers are attractive to bees and nectar-feeding insects. This variety easily self-seeds quite faithfully to its variety, if it is isolated from other foxgloves, without being invasive.

Plant the white foxglove in full sun or partial shade, in humus-rich and moist soil, in the company of old roses or perennials with single flowers such as bellflowers, columbines, centauries, astrantias, meadow rues, or Verbena bonariensis, which it will accompany in its wanderings through the garden. This elegant variety, with a not too tall but slender habit, will also allow you to enjoy its flowering for a long time in a large pot on the patio.  This magnificent plant, as architectural as an acanthus, will also accompany perennial geraniums, heucheras, and the feathery foliage of ferns in light woodland. Take advantage of this flower in the house as well, by making sumptuous bouquets.