Digitalis purpurea and lush willow bark ❅hardy ☼full sun /part shade ☠ toxic if eaten

• 12 Feb, 2013
• 14 likes

Preferred common namecommon foxglove
FamilyPlantaginaceae

Digitalis can be biennials or usually short-lived perennials forming a rosette of simple leaves with bell-shaped flowers in slender, erect, usually one-sided racemes

D. purpurea is a biennial or short-lived perennial, freely self-sowing, with a rosette of softly hairy, oval leaves and tall, one-sided spires of pendant, tubular, bright rosy-purple flowers 6cm long, spotted within, in summer

Other common names
bloody bells
bloody finger
cow flop
dead man's bells
dead men's bells
dog's lugs
dragon's mouth
fairy bells
fairy fingers
fairy gloves
fairy thimbles
fairy's cap
fairy's petticoat
fairy's thimble
finger flower
flap dock
folk's gloves
fox finger
gloves of Mary
lady's fingers
lady's gloves
lady's thimble
lion's mouth
lusmore
lustmore
pop dock
thimble finger
thimble flower
throat root
witches' bells
witches' fingers
witches' gloves
witches' thimbles
Suppliers
Suppliers listed in RHS Plant Finder

How to growSunlight
Full sun Part shade Aspect
South-facing, West-facing or East-facing
Exposed or Sheltered
Cultivation
Grow in almost any soil,but avoid very wet or very dry situations. Prefers a humus-rich soil in partial shade but will grow in full sun. Deadhead after flowering to avoid problems with excess numbers of seedlings.
Soil
Well-drained or Moist but well-drained
Acid, Alkaline or Neutral
Sand, Clay, Chalk or Loam
Propagation
Propagate by seed sown in-situ in late spring. Alternatively sow in seed trays in late spring and plant out to final position in late summer

Suggested planting locations and garden types
City/Courtyard Gardens, Coastal, Cottage/Informal Garden, Flower borders and beds, Wildflower meadow or Underplanting of Roses and Shrubs

How to carePruning
Cut back after flowering

Pests
Can get aphids and leaf and bud eelworms
Diseases
May be affected by leaf spots and powdery mildew
CharacteristicsPlant type
Annual/Biennial

Habit
Bushy

Toxicity
Highly toxic by ingestion

ResilienceHardiness
H4 (hardy)
ColourFlower
Purple in Summer

Foliage
Green in Autumn, Spring and Summer

SizeUltimate height
1.5-2.5 metres

Ultimate spread
0.1-0.5 metres

Time to ultimate height
1-2 years