Author: Natalya Category: Garden plants Published: February 18, 2019Republished: February 19, 2019Last edits: November 03, 2020
- When to plant
- Growing conditions
- Propagation by seeds
- Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea)
- Medicinal properties
plant , or digitalis (lat. Digitalis) belongs to the genus of herbs of the Plantainaceae family, although previously it was classified as a Norichniaceae family. The scientific name digitalis is derived from the Latin word meaning “thimble”. The genus contains about 35 species, mostly native to the Mediterranean, but also found in other areas of Europe, as well as in Western Asia and North Africa. Two species of foxglove grow in Western Siberia and European Russia, and four species can be found in the Caucasus. The foxglove flower chooses forest clearings and edges, meadows and shrubs.
Planting and caring for foxgloves
- Planting: sowing seeds in the ground - at the end of April or early May, sowing seeds for seedlings - in early or mid-March, planting seedlings in the ground - at the end of May or early June.
- Flowering: from June to late summer.
- Lighting: bright sunlight.
- Soil: loose, moisture-permeable, fertile, in an area where water will not stagnate.
- Watering: moderate, but frequent and only during periods of prolonged drought.
- Feeding: 1-2 times per season with a solution of complex mineral fertilizer.
- Reproduction: by seeds, including self-sowing, as well as by vegetative means - shoots.
- Pests: several species of aphids.
- Diseases: rot, spotting, powdery mildew and viral mosaic.
- Properties: medicinal poisonous plant.
Read more about growing foxgloves below.
The place of this flower in landscape design
The decorative nature of the plant allows it to be used to solve a wide variety of problems. Tall specimens serve as an excellent background for linear flower beds and mixborders, lower ones decorate flower beds located along walls and fences, and the smallest ones are used to decorate borders, paths and shrubs. Foxglove with large expressive flowers can be planted in a free-standing flower pot and flowerpot. A natural clearing of self-seeding flowers in the far corner of the garden looks romantic and natural.
You can make a beautiful flowerpot for foxgloves with your own hands, read about it:
Because of its tall growth, it is better to plant foxgloves closer to the center of the flower bed so that the flower stalks rise above the surrounding, lower flowers.
Various plants serve as partners for creating flower garden areas:
- trees and shrubs – honeysuckle, viburnum, rose hips, rhododendron;
- shade-tolerant - aquilegia, primrose, hosta, geranium, candelabra primrose, dicentra;
- universal - peonies, decorative onions, valerian, irises, aquilegia, angelica.
Large panicle peduncles are often used to make bouquets placed in tall glass or ceramic vases. Flowers of soft pink, cream, purple, and canary shades retain their freshness for a long time when cut. In early spring, foxglove is forced out as a potted plant. This is preceded by autumn preparation and winter storage in a cool room at a temperature of +12°C. If the crop survives the winter safely, then in April you can see its lush flowering.
Before planting any crops, it is necessary to prepare the soil. Traditionally, they dig up the top layer - to a depth of about 30 cm, while simultaneously enriching the soil with compost or manure (4-5 kg per square meter). It wouldn’t hurt to add a little mineral fertilizer of natural origin, for example, 1-2 cups of wood ash or a couple of spoons of Nitrofoski purchased at the store. Using a rake, you need to level the top layer so that the fertilizer is at a depth of 8-10 cm, then compact it a little. In May, seeds are usually sown in open ground, much earlier, in March, seedlings are prepared.
You can make compost to enrich the soil yourself. You can learn how to set up a compost pit from the material:
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Flower beds look luxurious and bright when decorated with two or more varieties of foxgloves of completely different colors: burgundy, white, pink, lilac, yellow
Botanical description
Foxglove can be a herbaceous perennial or biennial, and in the Western Mediterranean it can be a subshrub or even a shrub. The stems of foxglove are rigid, 30 to 150 cm high, unbranched. Large light green leaves, entire, alternate, acute, oblong and lanceolate, gradually transform into bracts. Large, irregularly shaped yellow, reddish or purple flowers are collected in one-sided or two-sided apical racemes.
Foxglove flowers, similar in shape to bells, are designed in such a way that pollen necessarily showers insects that climb into them, and then bees, flies, wasps and bumblebees transfer the pollen to other flowers, carrying out pollination. Foxglove flowering begins in June and ends by early autumn. The fruit of the plant is a capsule in which a large number of small brown seeds ripen, remaining viable for two to three years. One plant can bear up to 2,000,000 seeds.
All foxgloves are poisonous, so they are not grown in the flowerbeds of children's institutions. Some types of foxgloves are decorative, and some are better known as medicinal plants. Foxglove leaves of many species contain glycosides used in folk and traditional medicine.
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The herbaceous plant foxglove is undemanding in terms of soil composition and care, drought-resistant and frost-resistant. In this article we will tell you how to plant and care for foxgloves, what types of plants are medicinal, how perennial foxgloves are grown from seeds, and bring to your attention a lot of other information about digitalis.
Features of foxglove
Foxglove is a herbaceous biennial or perennial plant, while in the Western Mediterranean you can find digitalis in the form of a subshrub or shrub. The shoots are unbranched and rigid, their height varies from 0.3 to 1.5 m. Greenish large, entire leaf plates have a lanceolate and oblong shape, they are sharp, alternately arranged, gradually turning into bracts. Bi- or one-sided apical racemose inflorescences consist of large, irregularly shaped flowers, colored light red, yellow or purple. Bell-shaped flowers have a special structure: when a fly, bumblebee, bee or wasp climbs into them, it is showered with pollen, then the insect moves to another flower, carrying the pollen on itself. This is how pollination occurs. This plant blooms in June and fades in the first weeks of autumn. The fruit is a capsule containing many small brown seeds inside; they remain viable for 2–3 years. One bush can produce about 2 million seeds. Any type and variety of foxglove is poisonous; therefore, it is prohibited to plant them in the flowerbeds of children's institutions. Some types of digitalis are grown as ornamental plants, while others are better known as medicinal plants. The foliage of most species contains glycosides, which are used in alternative and traditional medicine. This plant is resistant to frost and drought, as well as undemanding in terms of care and soil composition.
Foxglove blooms in the second year after sowing! / Growing foxgloves
Growing foxgloves from seeds
How to sow seeds
Foxglove seeds are sown for seedlings in early or mid-March, after soaking them for a week in water, which is changed every 6 hours. There is no need to plant the seeds deeply, just sprinkle them lightly with sand, then cover the container with glass or film and place in a warm place with soft, diffused light.
Foxglove can produce its first shoots within two weeks.
Seedling care
Seedlings develop very slowly at first, but as soon as their first leaves form, plant the seedlings in separate cups or in a deeper and more spacious box at a distance of 7-10 cm. Caring for foxglove seedlings is no different from caring for any other seedlings: water as needed drying of the substrate, careful loosening of the soil, protection from direct sunlight and drafts.
A couple of weeks before planting in open ground, hardening procedures begin to prepare the seedlings for the conditions of the garden. The seedlings are exposed to fresh air every day, gradually increasing the duration of their stay in the garden or on the balcony. As soon as the seedlings can spend a day outside, they can be planted in open ground.
How to grow foxgloves (video)
There are many known species of this beautiful plant:
- The most famous and famous for its species diversity among them is foxglove purple . It will be discussed in detail below.
- A variety of purple that is rare in beauty is dwarf. Its height is just over half a meter, the flowers are pale yellow with reddish spots.
- White-flowered - with snow-white flowers, very unpretentious.
- Rusty , its flowers are golden brown, pinkish, with purple or brick veins, up to 4 cm in size. The height of the stem is more than a meter, sometimes up to two. The two-lipped flowers are shaped like an orchid.
- Large-flowered . It has shiny leaves and large six-centimeter pale yellow flowers with brown splashes and a light edge. Its height is up to 120 cm.
- Woolly - the most inconspicuous of all, the flowers are small, yellowish or brownish-purple, densely pubescent. They have a medicinal purpose.
- Yellow. Its bright flowers are 2-3 cm in size. The leaves and stems are smooth, the height of the plant is almost a meter.
- Merton's foxglove is a hybrid of grandiflora and purple with shiny leaves and pink flowers with dark spots.
Planting foxgloves in open ground
When to plant
Foxglove seedlings are planted in the garden when the threat of return spring frosts has passed, that is, in late May or early June. By this time, usually the soil is already well warmed up, and 5-6 leaves have opened on the seedlings. Foxglove prefers open sunny areas, although it grows well in partial shade. However, it is undesirable to plant digitalis under deciduous trees, since moisture always lingers longer in the tree trunks, and foxgloves may get wet or not bloom in such conditions. And in the fall, falling leaves disturb the plant.
How to plant
Foxglove needs loose, fertile and moisture-permeable soil in which water will not stagnate. Dig up the soil in the area in advance to the depth of a spade bayonet while simultaneously adding 4-5 kg of compost or humus to each m².
Foxgloves are planted at a distance of 15-20 cm between seedlings in a row with row spacing 25-30 cm wide. Make holes in the soil slightly larger than the root system of the seedlings and transfer the seedlings from the cups to the holes along with a lump of earth. If the seedlings are in a box, remove them from the soil and carefully place them in the hole. After planting, the surface of the area is compacted and watered.
In the first year, foxglove forms a rosette of leaves, and flowering will not begin until the next year.
Foxglove purpurea diseases
The large foxglove plant is susceptible to some diseases; they can occur in both garden and wild varieties. When each disease occurs, the gardener must take the correct actions.
If spots appear on the leaves, it means there is not enough copper in the soil. The situation can be corrected using a fungicide .
If the leaves curl and the peduncle rots, you need to examine the plant to look for serious damage. Most likely, you will need to remove all affected stems.
If foxglove purple is overcome by aphids, moths, powdery mildew , then you need to treat the plant with special chemicals against this pest.
Foxglove purpurea is native to Europe, North Africa, Western Asia, and then the plant became widespread in Eurasia and North America. The plant is loved by landscape designers and gardeners.
It must be said that in Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine it is not found in the natural environment; flower growers and gardeners cultivate it both as an ornamental and as a medicinal plant.
And to obtain medicinal raw materials, foxglove is even grown on an industrial scale in the North Caucasus, in the Novosibirsk region.
At the same time, the plant is both poisonous and healing. The plant is medicinal due to the presence of cardiac glycosides, digoxin, and digitoxin in the leaves. But you should take it only as recommended by your doctor, and do not eat the flower.
Foxglove purpurea preparations are used to treat arrhythmia, heart disease, cardiovascular diseases, relieve shortness of breath, and treat epilepsy.
It is also popularly used to stabilize blood pressure, as an antidepressant, for insomnia, to treat the gastrointestinal system, and as a compress for wound healing.
Foxglove Care
Growing conditions
Growing foxgloves involves performing the usual procedures for gardeners - watering digitalis, loosening the soil around the plants, removing weeds from the area, fertilizing and treating against pests or diseases, if the need arises.
Watering foxgloves is carried out only in conditions of prolonged drought, but in a normal summer with rains there is no need to water the plant. After watering or rain, you should shallowly and carefully loosen the soil around the plants - the digitalis root system is located horizontally in the soil, close to the surface, so it is easy to damage.
Once or twice during the growing season, foxgloves are fed with complex mineral fertilizer in liquid form - a solution of minerals is added to the water for irrigation.
During flowering, remove faded flowers and inflorescences - this measure will prolong the flowering process, and the foxglove will not lose its attractiveness until the fall.
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Transfer
When transplanting foxgloves, no problems should arise - as already mentioned, the plant’s root system is superficial, so digging up the bush is not difficult. The plant is placed in a previously prepared hole, which should be slightly larger than the root system of the bush with a lump of earth. After transplanting, the bush is watered.
Pests and diseases
Among the diseases, foxglove is most often affected by rot, spotting, powdery mildew and viral mosaic. In case of severe damage by powdery mildew and spotting, it is better to remove the diseased specimen from the site and treat the remaining plants with a fungicide solution. Unfortunately, viral diseases, such as mosaic, as well as root rot and peduncle rot, are incurable, so affected plants must be removed and burned.
Among the pests, foxglove is affected by several species of aphids, against which digitalis is treated with Biotlin, Antitlin and Iskra. Aphids are carriers of incurable viral diseases, so they must be destroyed at the first sign of their appearance.
As you can see, in general, planting foxgloves and caring for them in open ground is not at all burdensome.
Protection from pests and diseases
One of the advantages of growing foxgloves in a summer cottage, near a private house, in flower beds, or when creating hedges is the species’ resistance to various diseases. An unpretentious plant rarely gets sick if the grower follows the growing rules, of which there are not many. Even in poor soil, problems rarely arise.
One of the troubles is fungal infection of the stem and leaves, the development of powdery mildew. The reasons for the development of the disease are a combination of high temperature with excess humidity, excessive application of fertilizers with a high percentage of nitrogen, the plant is weakened, and sharp temperature fluctuations.
Signs:
- powdery white coating on leaves (both sides), flowers, stems;
- Over time, the mass becomes yellowish-brown;
- the leaves wither, the plant weakens, grows worse;
- Brown spots appear on the plant, leaf blades turn yellow and fall off;
- if left untreated, small tubercles form on the stem, containing fungal spores;
- the flower dies if the owner does not start fighting the fungus in a timely manner.
What to do:
- in case of severe infection, dig up the infected specimen so that powdery mildew does not spread to neighboring plants;
- If the fungal infection develops moderately, when the first signs of the disease appear, spray the foxglove with fungicides. The drugs effectively suppress the growth of mycelium and save plants from death;
- effective fungicides for open ground: Topaz, Fundazol, Vermitek, Skor, Bordeaux mixture;
- the procedure is carried out wearing medical gloves and a mask, protecting eyes and hands from contact with biological and chemical agents;
- when applying the composition, there should be no rain or dampness outside; the appropriate time is evening or early morning, while there is no scorching sun;
- re-treatment is carried out according to the instructions for the specific drug.
Sometimes Foxglove is attacked by pests that migrate to flowers and leaves from other plants in the area. Nematodes, aphids, various moths are parasitic insects and worms that feed on greens, juices, and gnawing plant roots.
How to deal with pests? Insecticides used: Vitaros, Inta-Vir, Actellik, Fitoverm, Aktara. It is useful for prevention to periodically spray the plantings with natural remedies: a decoction based on pyrethrum (a special type of chamomile), onion peels, tobacco leaves, and garlic tincture. It is important to adhere to the rules of agricultural technology, not to flood the plantings, but also not to allow the substrate to become excessively dry.
Foxglove propagation
Foxglove reproduces by seed - seedlings and non-seedlings, as well as by root shoots.
Propagation by seeds
We have already described the seedling method of propagating digitalis, but it is easier to grow foxglove by sowing seeds directly into the ground. This can be done in the spring, in the last ten days of April or in early May. Prepared as for sowing seedlings, you should try to place the seeds at a distance of 15-20 cm from each other and only lightly sprinkle them with soil. In cool spring, crops are covered with lutrasil. Shoots, if they turn out to be too dense, are thinned out to stimulate the development of large rosettes.
Foxglove reproduces well by self-sowing.
Reproduction by shoots
As for the vegetative method of propagation, root shoots are used for this. Leave the most lush inflorescences for seeds, and carefully cut off the wilted racemes from other flower stalks. After three weeks, several basal rosettes form at the base of the cut flower stalks, and as soon as 7-8 leaves are formed on each of them, they are carefully separated and planted in the ground. Before the beginning of autumn, the rosettes will take root and overwinter normally, and next year they will produce peduncles and flowers.
Foxglove after flowering
If necessary, collect seeds. When the seed pods are fully ripe, they will acquire a dark yellow, brown tint. The best seeds are in boxes located at the bottom. Take them off before they burst. Sprinkle the seeds onto newspaper and dry in a well-ventilated area. Store in paper bags in a dark, dry place.
Often the roots of the plant can protrude to the surface; in the winter they should be sprinkled with nutritious soil. Cut the stems, leaving about 10-15 cm above the surface. Mulch the soil with sawdust, dry leaves, and cover with spruce branches.
Types and varieties
The following types and varieties of foxgloves are most often grown in culture:
Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea)
Native to Western, Southern and Central Europe. This perennial, often grown as a biennial plant, reaches a height of 150 cm. Its stems are erect, sparsely branched and densely pubescent, with a rosette of basal leaves. The stem leaves on winged long petioles are arranged alternately, and the upper ones are sessile, rounded-elongated, crenate along the edge, velvety on top and with felt pubescence on the underside. White, carmine, pink, cream or purple flowers with short hairs and a dark stroke inside the corolla, up to 5 cm long, are collected in a racemose, one-sided inflorescence up to 80 cm long. This species blooms from early to late summer. In culture for a very long time.
There are several varieties of foxglove purple - grandiflora, spotted and gloxinia. Of the hybrids of Foxglove gloxinia, the Shirley variety is interesting - a plant up to one and a half meters high, blooming for a long time with open drooping, pink, purple or cream flowers spotted on the inside, collected in a one-sided inflorescence.
The Excelsior hybrid mix with peduncles up to 180 cm high, on which very large flowers are arranged in a spiral, is also popular. Foxglove from the Pelorik mix is often grown in the garden, the peduncles of which, dotted with large flowers, also grow up to 180 cm. The selected single-color variety of foxglove purple Pink Champagne, up to 120 cm high, also attracts attention;
Digitalis grandiflora (Digitalis grandiflora = Digitalis ambigua)
It grows naturally in Ukraine, Western Europe, the Mediterranean, the European part of Russia and South-Western Siberia. The height of plants of this species rarely exceed 120 cm. They have oblong-lanceolate leaves, pubescent along the veins and along the edges. Yellow flowers with brown veins inside the corolla, reaching a length of 6 cm, are collected in drooping racemes. The flowers have slight pubescence on the outside. This species has been in culture since 1561;
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Foxglove (Digitalis ferruginea)
One of the most attractive types of digitalis, reaching a height of 70 to 120 cm, although in some cases it can grow up to 2 m. The leaves of this species are oblong-lanceolate, glabrous or slightly pubescent. Flowers up to 4 cm in length resemble an orchid with a pronounced lower lip. The color of the flowers is varied - from a pale yellow shade with a pink bloom to grayish-yellow, which turns into rusty or golden brown. The inside of the corolla is decorated with purple or reddish-brown veins. The flowers are collected in large clusters, the flowering of which lasts from the second half of June until August. Foxglove has been in cultivation since 1597.
Foxglove (Digitalis lanata)
Perhaps the most inconspicuous type of digitalis growing in nature in Moldova. This is a medicinal foxglove, not an ornamental one, and it has its own advantages and benefits. The plant has a single peduncle, on which small brownish-yellow flowers with purple veins open. The axis of the inflorescence is covered with dense pubescence, which is why the plant got its name. Flowering of woolly foxglove begins in July and lasts about one and a half months;
Yellow foxglove (Digitalis lutea)
It grows in southwestern Europe, reaching a height of 80 to 100 cm. This plant has no pubescence on either its oblong-oval leaves or stems. Yellow flowers up to 2.5 cm long bloom in July. The species has been in culture since 1597. The most famous variety is Gelb Janus with flowers of a delicate yellow hue.
Dark or unclear foxgloves, Tapsi, Merton, Nevada, ciliated and some other species and hybrid forms are also grown in culture.
Description of foxglove
Foxglove purpurea is a very spectacular tall plant with many wonderful varieties and forms. Plant height is from 60 cm to a meter in a favorable year. The beginning of the first year of flower life is marked by the appearance of a thick, strong rosette of rough, large leaves, pubescent underneath. The upper leaves are sessile, and the lower petioles are long-elliptical in shape.
From the center of the leaf rosette emerges an unbranched flowering stem, on which there is a pyramidal inflorescence - a one-sided spike, on which are placed numerous large flowers of irregular bell-shaped shape, resembling a thimble, different in color: purple, white, lilac, mainly with dark dots on the inner surface corolla Monochromatic ones are much less common.
The most common variety of foxglove purple has a long spike of large pink-purple flowers with dark brown dots inside. This foxglove feels better in sunny areas of the dacha, although it also grows well in the shade. It is not very demanding on the soil, but for its best development it needs fertile soils - loose and moderately moist, but not soggy.
Less common, but the most spectacular variety of the plant is called glucinoides or gloxineflora, which has a long dense spike of very large flowers with bright pink, white, lilac or cream and their shades. The magnificent spotted foxglove is also very valuable. It is a giant form with spotted flowers of different shades. The bell-shaped variety has inflorescences of large flowers of the same shape. The variety monstrosa (amazing) has double apical flowers.
Properties of foxglove - harm and benefit
Medicinal properties
For a long time, with the help of digitalis, healers treated epilepsy, abdominal and thoracic dropsy, used it to relieve pain from skin diseases, and also as a remedy for constipation and to cleanse the body. However, with the wrong dosage, vomiting, diarrhea, and often death were observed. Therefore, for a whole century, humanity forgot about foxglove.
Digitalis has been used in traditional medicine since the eighteenth century. It was then that its unusual properties were discovered. The main medicinal raw materials are the leaves of the plant, which are collected in the first year. They contain 62 glycosides, including gitoxin and digitoxin, lanatosides A, B, C, D, E and others. These biologically active substances are very important in the fight against many cardiovascular diseases. Digitalis is used:
- to strengthen the walls of blood vessels;
- to improve blood supply to muscles and tissues;
- to normalize hemodynamics;
- from cardiosclerosis;
- from tachycardia, hypertension, myocardial dystrophy, mitral defects;
- from atrial fibrillation.
Foxglove woolly is most often used as a medicinal plant. Organic acids, cardiotonic and steroid glycosides are obtained from it. Digitalis purpurea, ciliated and rusty, which, although to a lesser extent, also contain biologically active substances, are also used in medicine.
Foxglove leaves are used to make a powder that is used in suppositories and tablets. In folk medicine, digitalis infusion is also used.
Contraindications
Literally all types of foxglove are poisonous, so self-medication is strongly discouraged. It is prohibited to use digitalis preparations for people with diseased lungs, angina pectoris, pericarditis, myocarditis, myocardial infarction, gastric tachycardia, as well as children and pregnant women. Digitalis poisoning is manifested by nausea, vomiting, severe abdominal pain, skin rashes, convulsions, breathing problems, and heart failure.
At the first signs of digitalis poisoning, you should immediately call an ambulance. With prolonged use of drugs from the plant, toxic substances accumulate in the body, which can lead to loss of appetite, anorexia and hallucinations.
Digitalis: medicinal uses
This plant is used to treat heart failure. The leaves and their juice are medicinal.
The following varieties are used for medicinal purposes:
- foxglove (D. grandiflora)
- red or purple foxglove (D. purpurea)
- foxglove woolly (D. lanata)
Due to its positive effects on the patient’s body, the plant is called the “queen of heart remedies.” This effect is exerted by the toxic substances of the plant that produce this result. Culture glycosides have a positive effect on the functions of the cardiac organ, namely: systole, diastole, stroke volume.
On a note!!!
Treatment with drugs made from digitalis extract should be carried out under the supervision of a physician. The plant is very poisonous. Its glycosides have the ability to accumulate in the body and destroy it from the inside.
If digitalis drugs are used incorrectly, severe toxicosis can occur, which will lead to cardiac arrest. Because of this, taking digitalis products is alternated with using other medications.
Antidotes that can neutralize the poison of this plant include:
- caffeine;
- atropine;
- potassium chloride.
The content of glycosides in foxglove leaves can vary and depends on the place of growth, time of collection and method of harvesting plant raw materials.
This plant is specially cultivated for medicinal use. This is usually foxglove purpurea.
Foxglove preparations can have different effects. It depends on the person’s age, his state of health and his gender.
Foxglove and Vag Gog
While taking digitalis, color perception may change. The colors become discolored and degenerate into yellow-green-blue tones. This can be seen in the paintings of the famous artist Van Gogh, who took a digitalis-based remedy in the last years of his life.
Digitalis grandiflora was included in the first edition of the Russian Pharmacopoeia (a collection of standards and regulations regulating the quality of medicines), and continues to be included in its list to this day.
