rusty foxglove
© Richie Steffen / Great Plant Picks
© Richie Steffen / Great Plant Picks
© Richie Steffen / Great Plant Picks
Digitalis ferruginea is an unusual variation on the common foxglove and looks lovely in a semi-shady corner of the garden. It is tall and slender with rich green basal foliage. Rusty Foxglove produces elegant spires of golden-brown tubular flowers in midsummer. Digitalis ferruginea is a short-lived perennial but does seed about gently so you won't lose the plant. It looks great planted with hardy geraniums, grasses and eryngium in a mixed border. This species attracts bees and hummingbirds, is good as a cut flower, is drought tolerant once established, is long blooming and slug resistant. It should also be noted that all parts of this plant are poisonous.
Plant Type: perennial
Foliage Type: evergreen
Plant Height (10-year): 4 ft. 0 in. (1.22 meters)
Plant Width/Spread (10-year): 1 ft. 6 in. (0.46 meters)
Hardiness: USDA Zones 4 to 8
Flower Color: brown
Flowering Time: summer
Sun/Light Exposure: full sun to light or open shade
Water Requirements: drought tolerant when established or occasional watering to keep fresh looking
Wildlife Associations: hummingbirds, bees
Resistant to: deer
This perennial foxglove grows best in well-drained soil, but will tolerate sandy sites and clay. Plant it in full sun to light or open shade. Once established it is drought tolerant, but appreciates occasional watering. After flowering the faded stems can be left to allow seeds to spread or it can be cut to the ground, allowing the basal rosette of foliage to develop.
Text and photos ©2020 Great Plant Picks/Elisabeth Carey Miller Garden except where otherwise noted
Funded by the Pendleton and Elisabeth Carey Miller Charitable Foundation, The Seattle Times, and Individual Donors
Administered by the Elisabeth Carey Miller Botanical Garden