Rusty Foxglove

Digitalis ferruginea

• Position: full sun to partial shade
• Soil: moist, humus-rich soil
• Rate of growth: average to fast-growing
• Flowering period: May to July
• Flower colour: golden-brown
• Hardiness: fully hardy

  
  Elegant spires of long golden-brown, tubular flowers appear during midsummer. This is an unusual variation on the common foxglove that will add height to a shady corner of the garden and looks lovely dotted among ferns or other woodland plants. Although short-lived, given the right conditions it will perpetuate by self-seeding.
  
  All parts of the plant may cause severe discomfort if ingested and contact with the foliage may irritate skin.
  

• Garden care: Ensure that the soil is kept moist in summer. After flowering cut back the flowered spikes to encourage more sideshoots. Cut down to the ground after flowering. Apply a generous 5-7cm (2-3in) mulch of well-ro tted organic matter around the plant in early spring.

  These plants are mainly biennial, although they will produce plenty of new sideshoots and self-seed freely. self-seed freely