I'm currently clearing a moderately shady spot which I reckon'd be perfect
for a display of about 60 foxgloves next year.

What's a reasonably economic way to get these plants? I'm not sure if it's
too late to sow seeds this year, and if it's not, then what do you do with
them over winter.

Dunno if this is just garden centres around Oxford, but small foxglove
plants bought in spring tend to cost 5 to 10 squid

thanks.

On Fri, 6 Aug 2004 13:28:25 +0100, "Glen Able"
wrote:

I'm currently clearing a moderately shady spot which I reckon'd be perfect
for a display of about 60 foxgloves next year.

What's a reasonably economic way to get these plants? I'm not sure if it's
too late to sow seeds this year, and if it's not, then what do you do with
them over winter.

Dunno if this is just garden centres around Oxford, but small foxglove
plants bought in spring tend to cost 5 to 10 squid

thanks.


Go and buy 2 packets of seeds (~ £1.50 each packet), of whatever
variety of foxglove takes your fancy, and sow one packet now and the
other late spring of next year. Foxgloves generally have a two year
lifespan flowering in the second year, so sowing as I have suggested
will give you yearly continuity as the mature plants self seed in
future.

Rowdy

snip Go and buy 2 packets of seeds (~ £1.50 each packet), of whatever
variety of foxglove takes your fancy, and sow one packet now and the
other late spring of next year. Foxgloves generally have a two year
lifespan flowering in the second year, so sowing as I have suggested
will give you yearly continuity as the mature plants self seed in
future.

My Foxgloves are shedding seed like nobodies business at the moment. Go out
with an envelope or two and a beguiling smile. Look for foxgloves that take
your fancy and ask their owners if you can "tap" them over your envelope.
Round here fellow gardeners fall over themselves to help in this way. I have
an amazing collection of different aquilegia that all started life with a
smile and a tap (o:

Sow them in seed trays and start 'em off in the greenhouse. You'll end up
with several hundred foxgloves to plant or share. A very few will manage to
make a flower spike in the first year but you'll have to wait for the
following season for the majority.
Be warned, though, that `they don't necessarily breed true, and over time
most will end up purple....

Best thing about them is that if you plant them densely they will claim
large areas for themselves, the dense foliage smothering pretty well
everything that tries to push in.

In message , Rowdy
writes
On Fri, 6 Aug 2004 13:28:25 +0100, "Glen Able"
wrote:

I'm currently clearing a moderately shady spot which I reckon'd be perfect
for a display of about 60 foxgloves next year.

What's a reasonably economic way to get these plants? I'm not sure if it's
too late to sow seeds this year, and if it's not, then what do you do with
them over winter.

Dunno if this is just garden centres around Oxford, but small foxglove
plants bought in spring tend to cost 5 to 10 squid

Go and buy 2 packets of seeds (~ £1.50 each packet), of whatever
variety of foxglove takes your fancy, and sow one packet now and the
other late spring of next year. Foxgloves generally have a two year
lifespan flowering in the second year, so sowing as I have suggested
will give you yearly continuity as the mature plants self seed in
future.

Or alternatively go and find a few ripe foxglove seed heads of ones you
remember looking good and have them for free. They produce phenomenal
amounts of viable seed - so much that you normally chop them off.

One packet of foxglove seeds is more than enough. It is pretty difficult
to prevent them from germinating no matter how badly you mistreat them.
Chances are that even planted this late in the season some will be
mature enough next year to flower (and die).

Regards,
--
Martin Brown

Sow them in seed trays and start 'em off in the greenhouse. You'll end up
with several hundred foxgloves to plant or share. A very few will manage
to
make a flower spike in the first year but you'll have to wait for the
following season for the majority.
Be warned, though, that `they don't necessarily breed true, and over time
most will end up purple....

Guess that must be the original colour then....

All of my foxgloves invited themselves (and were welcomed with open arms!!)
over to my garden. A few are white and yes, most are purple.

Caroline
--
http://www.xs4all.nl/~calypso/request.html
(not gardening related)

"Glen Able" wrote in message
...
I'm currently clearing a moderately shady spot which I reckon'd be
perfect
for a display of about 60 foxgloves next year.

What's a reasonably economic way to get these plants? I'm not sure
if it's
too late to sow seeds this year, and if it's not, then what do you
do with
them over winter.

Dunno if this is just garden centres around Oxford, but small
foxglove
plants bought in spring tend to cost 5 to 10 squid

Would you pay that much for a wallflower? They, and foxgloves, are
usually grown as biennials and they require comparable amounts of
labour to raise.

Franz

Go and buy 2 packets of seeds (~ £1.50 each packet), of whatever
variety of foxglove takes your fancy, and sow one packet now and the
other late spring of next year. Foxgloves generally have a two year
lifespan flowering in the second year, so sowing as I have suggested
will give you yearly continuity as the mature plants self seed in
future.

Rowdy

Very good advice, I planted all mine in one year and so only see mine flower
every two years. ah, but the anticipation!!

Colin............