Foxgloves are one of those beautiful flowers you will typically think of in a cottage garden setting. They can be as simple to grow as shaking seeds out in the fall and waiting for them to grow on their own. For some of us northern gardeners who are not quite lucky enough for them to be in our grow zone we have to force them along with a little bit of planning and love.
Foxgloves are actually a biannual. If you plant them the first year they will grow leaves but it won't be until year two that they typically flower. If you are able to get your foxgloves started early enough and put them out before the last frost of the year you should be able to force them into flowering that first year.
The other option is to find a hybrid F1 foxglove like the Camelot series that is a first year flowering foxglove. They can come in a range of beautiful colours from lavender to cream and pink.
Keep in mind that all parts of the foxgloves are poisonous and can be harmful to small children or animals. It is important when handling not only the seedlings but the plants themselves that you wear gloves and wash your hands when you are finished.
Some keys to growing foxgloves
Use a good sterilized grow medium like promix. https://amzn.to/3E7r5Z2 in Canada or https://amzn.to/3slg4kH in the USA
Dampen your grow medium and press into tray with drainage holes. press down firm so medium isn't loose.
Gently place seeds onto of grow medium.
Place tray into a larger tray with no holes.
Bottom water tray or mist only
Place directly under grow lights as close to the light as possible with a dome cover on your seeds.
You will notice your seeds will start to germinate within a week. Once they do, remove the dome cover. The seeds need moisture and consistent water but you don't want to grow an algae farm.
Once your seedlings are 3-4 inches tall, transplant to larger containers.
Transplant your foxgloves outside 2 weeks before the last frost of the season. If you are planting the Camelot series foxgloves you can wait to plant these until after your last frost.
West Coast Seeds is one of my favourite go to companies for seeds. They are the #1 company for Non GMO and untreated seeds in Canada... plus they have super cute packaging and a fantastic company.
Happy Planting!!