Questions about foxgloves

[ZuleikaJambiere]

For years I've tried and failed to grow foxgloves from seeds, so this year I bought some plants and they looked beautiful. They've finished flowering now - should I dead-head, chop down completely or leave them be, for the best display in future years?

And typically, my foxglove seeds have germinated this year, at last. I now have about a dozen healthy looking seedlings that I've potted on into little individual pots. As they get too big for these pots, should I plant out where I want them to flower next year, or pot on again in larger pots and keep them indoors until next spring?

Thanks

Nobody does anything to wild ones so my guess is to leave them alone.

Don't know anything about the babies in pots! They like well-drained soil, keep that in mind. I suspect they like cold winters, I wouldn't keep indoors, rather somewhere sheltered but outside.

Try leaving the seed heads on - they will probably self seed! Typically, foxgloves are biennial so once they've flowered, they will die, hence the need to keep the seedheads on so they can self seed. However, some will survive and flower again next year but its a bit of a lottery!

As for the ones you've grown from seed - I'd be inclined to plant them out now, so they can get their roots down while the soil is still warm. Put them somewhere that's not too open and not too hot. They tend to like a cool semi shaded place.

Yes, they are perennials.

Leave the seeds to die on the old ones, then shake on the soil much later eg early October.

Plants out the new ones now, and keep watered. They dont mind a bit of shade, as long as not too deep shade.

The new ones will die down over the winter and spring up larger and ready to flower next year. Then they will die, but their seeds will most likely make new ones.

If they are all different shades eg if your new ones are a fashionable pale apricot or white, do keep them away from the old ones. They fertilise each others, and the old wild darker pink always wins out!

Self seeding is so obvious - I can't believe I didn't think of that (given I'm obsessively removing most of my poppy heads this year in an attempt to control them, as they are rampant, but still beautiful).

The spot where I'd like them to go is in a corner where 2 walls meet, so it is very sheltered and gets very little direct sunlight (evenings only), so hopefully they'll be happy. As I've got a big forsythia that I'm falling out of love with and considering removing, I think I won't plant all of them out until I've done that job. Maybe I'll plant half a dozen out and half a dozen into larger pots, in case removing the forsythia disrupts them.

I love the wild, dark pink ones, so very happy for that colour to take over

Thanks everyone