Description of the foxglove plant, rules for planting and caring for digitalis in a personal plot, recommendations for reproduction, methods of combating diseases and pests, species and varieties.
Foxglove (Digitalis) can be found under a name similar to its Latin transliteration - Digitalis. The plant belongs to the genus of herbaceous representatives of the flora, united in the Plantaginaceae family according to the APGII System. However, following another classification by American botanist Arthur Kronquist (1919–1992), the digitalis is included in the Scrophulariaceae family.
There are about a quarter of a hundred species in the genus, the distribution area of which mainly falls on the territory of the Mediterranean. Such plants can be found in the western regions of Asia, in the north of the African continent. In the Caucasus, botanists have identified two pairs of species, and only a couple in the West Siberian lands and in the European part of Russia. Digitalis prefer to settle in forests made up of mixed or deciduous trees, among shrub thickets, along forest edges and clearings, they can grow in meadows.
| Family name | Plantain or Noricum |
| Growing period | Perennial or biennial |
| Vegetation form | Herbaceous, can be semi-shrub or shrub |
| Breeding method | Seed and vegetative |
| Landing period in open ground | End of May or beginning of June |
| Landing rules | Saplings at a distance of 15–20 cm, row spacing - 25–30 cm |
| Priming | Loose, moisture-permeable, fertile |
| Soil acidity values, pH | 6, 5-7 (neutral) |
| Lighting degree | Bright and sunny |
| Humidity parameters | Moderate watering, but frequent, especially during dry periods |
| Special care rules | Stagnant moisture is not desirable |
| Height values | 0.3–1.5 m |
| Inflorescences or type of flowers | Racemose |
| Flower color | Yellow, orange, crimson, pink or purple |
| Flowering period | All summer |
| Decorative period | Spring-Autumn |
| Application in landscape design | Mixborders and flower beds, decoration of fences and backyard buildings, rockeries and rock gardens, fruit trees in the near-trunk circle |
| USDA zone | 4–9 |
The genus received its scientific name thanks to the Latin term "digitus", which translates as "thimble" or "finger", since the corolla of plants resembles them in their outlines. Apparently, this was reflected in the name in Russian.
All foxgloves are characterized by a long-term growth period, but there are also two-year varieties. Plants can take herbaceous, semi-shrub or shrub form. The height of the stems varies in the range of 30–150 cm. The stems grow straight or can rise above the soil surface. They are mostly simple, only in rare cases have a branching in the upper part.
The foliage that unfolds on the stems is arranged in a regular sequence. The outlines of the leaves are solid, the shape is oblong-ovate or lanceolate. Occasionally, leaf plates can have linear or linear-lanceolate contours. The edge of the sheet can be either solid or with pointed notches. The foliage surface on the reverse side is characterized by simple or glandular hairs. Leaf plates in the root zone are characterized by petioles, and those that grow higher on the stem are practically all devoid of them, the leaves can be stem-embracing or semi-stem-embracing. The color of the leaves is a rich green or emerald hue. The foliage has a tendency to gradually move into the bracts.
The flowering of the foxglove is its advantage, since one-sided or multilateral racemose inflorescences are collected from the buds on the tops of the stems. The corolla of the flower is characterized by tubular outlines or has a swelling, the edge has two lips. The upper lip is usually shorter in length than the lower lip, and has a dissection into two short lobes. The lower lip is three-lobed, while its central lobe is longer than the lateral ones. The flower color of the digitalis is quite varied and colorful. This includes shades of yellow, orange, crimson, pink, or purple.
It is curious that due to the structure of the corolla, pollination occurs, since an insect that has crawled into a foxglove flower is necessarily showered with pollen and, flying from flower to flower, pollen is transferred through its pollinators.
After pollination, the fruits ripen, which in the digitalis have the shape of a capsule. It is characterized by an ovoid or elongated ovoid shape. When the box is fully ripe, it cracks along the partition. There are a lot of seeds in the fruits, but their size is very small - only 1 mm in length. The color of the seed material is yellow or brown, the outlines of the seeds are cylindrical or in the form of tetrahedral prisms. So from one plant you can get up to 2 million seeds. Seed germination is not lost for 2-3 years.
Digitalis is not capricious and can decorate any flower bed with its flowering, but since there are medicinal properties, you can get two in one: a beautiful and medicinal plant in your garden.
Rules for planting foxgloves and features of care in a personal plot
- Landing place digitalis, it is preferable to select an open and well-lit, but even in partial shade the plant will feel good. However, such a location will not provide a lush bloom, as it happens in the sun. Often, a place is selected under the crowns of deciduous trees, since the soil in their near-trunk circle can remain moist for a long time. This will be a suitable place for foxglove, which will grow in moist soil, but not sour and flooded. In the autumn, the fallen leaves will serve as a shelter, and not a hindrance. On too dry soil, flowering will be scarce, but if the plants are provided with abundant watering, then they are not afraid of such a soil composition. Do not plant digitalis where groundwater passes close, as in swampy and waterlogged soil, the root system will quickly rot.
- Soil for foxglove it is necessary to select loose, so that it has nutritional value and ensures moisture permeability to the root system, but also not heavy, so that the water does not stagnate in it. The soil in the flowerbed where the digitalis is planned to be planted is carefully dug to the depth of the shovel bayonet (about 30 cm). At the same time, it is recommended to add compost or humus to the substrate at the same time. Based on 1 m2, so that you have 4–5 kg of funds. Many add the specified amount of wood ash.
- Planting foxglove. Seedlings are planted only during the period when return frosts have already passed. This usually occurs in the last week of May or early June. By this time, the plant will have 5–6 full-fledged leaf plates, and the soil will become well warmed up for planting. The distance between the seedlings should be 15–20 cm, and if planting is carried out in rows, then the row spacing should be 25–30 cm. It is recommended to make holes slightly larger than the earthen lump of the seedling. By the transshipment method (that is, when the earthen lump is not destroyed), foxglove seedlings are planted. If the seedlings are in a common seedling container, then they are pulled out along with the entire substrate and carefully placed in the dug hole. After planting, light compaction of the soil around the plant and abundant watering is performed. The planted digitalis will not bloom in the first year, since it will grow a leaf rosette, peduncles with inflorescences will form only in the second year of the growing season. Since the foxglove is a poisonous representative of the flora, it is recommended to be careful when working with it and use gloves, and after work, wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water.
- Watering it is necessary to perform only when dry and hot weather has been standing for a long time. Usually, the evening time is chosen for watering so that the moisture does not evaporate so quickly. The soil should not dry out. If summer is characterized by a normal amount of precipitation, then it is not required to moisten the substrate. After each rain or watering, it is recommended to carefully loosen the soil around the bush. Caution in this matter is necessary because the foxglove root system is located shallow and horizontally to the soil surface.
- Fertilizer for digitalis, it should be applied 1-2 times during the growing season. Complex mineral preparations produced in liquid form are used. Then such a tool dissolves well in water for irrigation. You can use drugs such as Kemira-Universal or Fertika.
- General Tips for the care of foxglove are the same as for many garden plants: loosening the soil after rain or watering, regular weed control and timely removal of withered not only individual flowers, but also whole inflorescences. The latter action will serve as an incentive to extend the duration of flowering, so that the attractiveness of the bush remains high until the very frost.
- Foxglove care after flowering. Since during the growing season, the root system of the digitalis close to the ground surface can become open, the plant should be prepared before winter. It is recommended to carefully cover the roots with a nutritious soil mixture. Although perennial varieties of foxglove are cold-resistant, if the winter is snowless, the plant can easily freeze over. All flowering stems should be cut off, and the rosette of leaves should be covered with a layer of fallen dry foliage or spruce branches. Non-woven material such as lutrasil can be used. Young digitalis bushes will need the same protection. With the arrival of spring, such a shelter is removed, and all dried sheet plates are cut off.
- The use of digitalis in landscape design. Since the plants are distinguished by high stems, they can perfectly decorate any backyard buildings, fences and fences. They will also become a real decoration of any mixborder or flower bed. If the species is undersized, then it will look good in a rockery or on an alpine slide. Such plants are planted in the near-stem circle of garden trees. Perfect neighbors for digitalis are sage and sage, wormwood and ferns, hosts and cuffs. Thanks to this, you can decorate a corner of the garden in a natural style.
See tips for plant care, bog cultivation.
Foxglove breeding recommendations
You can get new bushes that delight with exuberant flowering by sowing seeds or vegetatively, by planting root shoots.
Foxglove propagation by seeds
Here you can either sow seeds directly into the ground or grow seedlings. In the first case, sowing is carried out in the spring, at the end of April or in the first week of May. Before sowing, digitalis seeds are soaked in warm water for seven days, which is changed every 6 hours. Seeds are placed shallowly into the prepared soil in a flower bed and sprinkled on top with a small layer of river sand or dry soil. The distance between the seeds is about 15–20 cm. If spring days are still cold, it is recommended to cover the planting bed with a non-woven material such as spunbond. When the seedlings appear and grow a little, they are thinned out, keeping the distance between the plants 20-30 cm, so that there is room for the formation and growth of leaf rosettes.
Important
It should be remembered that digitalis can easily reproduce by self-seeding.
Reproduction of a foxglove seedling method
For this, the seeds must be sown with the arrival of spring, no later than mid-March. Seeds are prepared before sowing according to the above rules. A peat-sand mixture or soil for seedlings is poured into the planting containers. Seeds are not buried deep into the soil, but sprinkle them with river sand on top. After sowing, the container is placed under glass or wrapped in plastic wrap, which will provide increased humidity and sufficient heat for germination. The place where the seedlings are kept should have soft diffused lighting. The first shoots of digitalis will appear after a couple of days.
The development of foxglove seedlings is slow at first. As soon as they acquire a couple of real leaves, it is recommended to dive. For this, separate cups are used (better made of peat, so that it is easier to transplant later). You can use another seedling container, but it should be deeper and more spacious. In this case, the distance between the seedlings should remain within 7-10 cm. Care for seedlings includes timely watering (when the soil dries up from above), careful loosening after watering the substrate, protection from direct ultraviolet radiation and drafts.
When 2 weeks remain before the transplant, you can begin to harden the nasturtium seedlings into the garden. Containers with seedlings are taken out in the daytime for 15–20 minutes outside. Gradually, this time needs to be increased by 20-30 minutes in order to bring it to around the clock and then transplant.
Reproduction of digitalis by root processes
In the course of time, processes appear near the roots of the digitalis. To stimulate their formation, it is recommended to leave the most lush brushes to obtain seed, and from other flowering stems the inflorescences are carefully cut off after they wilt. After 20–23 days, leaf rosettes will form in the root zone of cut flowering stems. When each of them becomes the owner of 7–8 leaf plates, then such sockets can be carefully separated. After they are immediately transplanted to a prepared place in the garden. This operation is carried out in the summer, so that before the onset of frost, digitalis seedlings can take root and endure the winter period. The next growing season will be marked by both new flowering stems and flowers.
Read also how to propagate antirrinum from seeds and cuttings
Methods of combating diseases and pests in the cultivation of digitalis in the open field
Diseases such as powdery mildew (leucorrhoea), rot (white and gray), mottling and viral mosaics are often problematic when growing digitalis. If the plant is too affected by powdery mildew or all sorts of spots, then it should immediately be forged and removed from the site, since the infection can be transferred to other plantings. All remaining bushes, and not just foxgloves, are recommended to be treated with fungicidal preparations, such as Fundazol or Bordeaux liquid, and copper-containing agents are also used.
Diseases such as root rot, stem rot or mosaic cannot be treated due to viral origin, so such bushes are definitely removed and burned. They are manifested by the deformation of the leaf plates, drooping of the peduncles and the general wilting of the plant. Pests, for example, aphids, are carriers of viral diseases and therefore must be dealt with immediately. For this, it is recommended to spray with insecticides, of which there are many today. Such drugs, for example, as Fitoverm, Aktara, Karbofos and others.
Read also about possible difficulties when caring for Graziola in the garden
Interesting notes about the flower digitalis
When the temperature drops at night in summer, the foxglove flowers serve as a shelter for insects, since the inside of the corolla is much warmer than outside. Naturally, the pollen that fell on insects during the night, after they leave their "shelter", will inevitably fall into other flowers, contributing to pollination. Scientists have found that foxglove is food for lepidoptera such as the Euphydryas aurini, large or maturna (Euphydryas maturna), as well as the southern moth (Polymixis flavicincta).
But it was not only the beauty of flowering that attracted people in digitalis. This is because traditional healers have long used Digitalis to treat pain associated with skin diseases, relieve symptoms of epilepsy and dropsy (chest and abdominal). Digitalis preparations help to get rid of constipation and purify the body along the way.
Important
When using drugs based on digitalis, it is recommended not to violate the dosage, since due to the content of glycosides, poisoning is possible, accompanied by vomiting, diarrhea and even death.
Traditional medicine has been aware of the medicinal effects of digitalis on the human body since the 18th century. At that time, the beneficial properties of the plant were revealed. For medicinal products, foliage collected in the first year of the growing season is used. Scientists have identified up to 62 glycosides in the leaves, among which there are gitoxin, lanatosides A, B, C, D, E, as well as digitoxin and others. These substances are used to treat cardiovascular diseases.
Recommend digitalis medications for:
- strengthening effect on the walls of blood vessels;
- promoting better blood circulation to tissues and muscles;
- bringing hemodynamics back to normal;
- treatment of cardiosclerosis;
- removal of symptoms of tachycardia, elimination of myocardial dystrophy, hypertension and mitral defects, as well as atrial fibrillation.
Usually, a powder is obtained from the foliage of digitalis, which is then included in various tablets, tinctures and suppositories.
Types and varieties of foxglove
Purple digitalis (Digitalis purpurea)
The native area of growth falls on the lands of the western, southern and central European regions. A perennial plant in culture is used most often as a two-year culture. The stems are one and a half meters in height. They grow erect, do not have dense branching. The surface of the stems is densely covered with hairs. A rosette is assembled from the leaves in the root zone. The leaf plates, which are arranged alternately on the stems, have elongated petioles with wings. The upper foliage grows sessile. The shape of the leaves is rounded-elongated. On the edge, they are crenate, the upper side is velvety, and the reverse is characterized by pubescence in the form of felt.
When blooming, flowers bloom with a corolla of snow-white, carmine, pink and cream or crimson shades. Their entire surface is covered with short hairs. There is a dark smear inside the flower. Corolla length is 5 cm. Inflorescences are collected from buds in the form of one-sided brushes. The length of the entire inflorescence is no more than 0.8 m. The flowering process is extended for the entire summer season.
The following types have the greatest success:
Large-flowered foxglove (Digitalis grandiflora)
occurs under the name Digitalis ambigua. It has a large corolla (about 4 cm), the inflorescence-raceme has drooping outlines and can vary in length from 5–26 cm, the height of the stems reaches 80–120 cm. The color of the flower is sulfur-spotted with crimson or brown veins in the inner part of the corolla … Its length is 6 cm. The outer part of the flower is also characterized by pubescence. Leaf plates with elongated lanceolate outlines; pubescence is present on the edge and along the veins.
In culture, the species began to grow from the middle of the 16th century. In nature, it can be found on the territory of Ukraine and in the Mediterranean, in Western European regions, the European part of Russia, as well as in the south-west of Siberia.
Spotted foxglove (Digitalis var.macuiata superba)
- biennial, the stems of which are 1.5 m in height. The length of the corolla tubule may approach 5 cm. It is characterized by a spotted pattern that stands out brightly against the general background of the petals.
Gloxiniform foxglove (Digitalis var.gloxiniaeflora)
The height of the stems does not exceed 150 cm, the diameter of the flowers is 5 cm. The length of racemose inflorescences reaches 70 cm. The color is bright, including cream, lilac, pink and carmine shades, there are bright crimson spots inside. They resemble gloxinia flowers. Here, the most popular varieties are:
- Shirley, reaching the height of 1.5 m with stems. One-sided brushes are collected from drooping flowers. The inside of the corolla is spotty. The color is pink, crimson or cream.
- Excelsior - represented by a hybrid mix, the flower-bearing stems of which can reach 1, 8 m. Peduncles are crowned with inflorescences, with a spiral arrangement of flowers.
- Peloric it is also a mix, the stalks of which are characterized by the presence of large flowers. The height of the stems can be measured 1, 8 m.
- Pink champagne characterized by the uniform color of the petals in the flowers. The height of the stems is not more than 1, 2 m.
Rusty foxglove (Digitalis ferruginea)
This variety is one of the most attractive in the genus. Its stems can vary in height within 70–120 cm. There are specimens whose indicators reach 2 meters. The leaf plates are characterized by oblong-lanceolate outlines. The foliage is bare or slightly pubescent. The corolla of the flower can measure about 4 cm, while its shape is very similar to that of orchid flowers, in which the lower lip looks significantly developed.
The color of the flower petals is characterized by a variety of shades, ranging from pale yellow with a slight pink undertone to grayish yellow, turning into a golden brown or rusty color scheme. The inner part of the rim has a pattern of lilac or brownish-red veins. Large racemose inflorescences are formed from the buds. Flowers begin to open from the second decade of June to the end of summer days. Cultivation in culture dates back to 1597.
Woolly foxglove (Digitalis lanata)
is the most unattractive species in the genus. In nature, the lands of distribution fall on the territory of Moldova. Although the plant does not amaze with the beauty of flowering, it has medicinal properties. The flowering stem is single, its top is crowned with an inflorescence of flowers with brownish-yellow petals, streaked with ink colors. The axis of the inflorescence itself is characterized by dense pubescence, which resembles a fur, hence the specific name. The flowering process begins in mid-summer and lasts up to 1, 5 months.
Yellow foxglove (Digitalis lutea)
The natural distribution area is in the southwestern regions of Europe. The height of the stems varies within 0.8–1 m. Both stems and elongated-oval leaf plates are devoid of pubescence. The buds begin to bloom in July, while the opening corollas will reach 2.5 cm in length. The cultivation of the species began in 1597. The variety is most popular among florists. Gelb Janus, with yellowish colors.
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Video about growing foxglove in a garden:
