They are poisonous, they are magnificent ornamental plants in the bed and they are easy to care for - the thimbles. But do you have to sow them every two years or do they last longer?

What is the life of the thimble like?

In its first year of life it forms a rosette of leaves. The ignorant tend to confuse these with weeds, since no flowers appear, and then quickly remove them.

But waiting is the order of the day. The hardy foxglove shoots up a long and candle-like stalk in its second year of life. Here are its flowers. The seeds emerge in autumn.

Both in the first and second year (and subsequent years, if necessary) - the foxglove is poisonous. Sometimes it seems as if he lives for years. But fallacy: it likes to self-seed and for this reason it appears to be extremely long-lived.

Intervene in life expectancy

To get a perennial foxglove, there is a trick. As soon as the flowers have faded in the second year, they should be cut off. The result is that flowers form again in the third year. However, this bloom is usually more sparse.

If this procedure is omitted, the foxglove is usually unwilling to appear again. As soon as winter approaches, it dies. It has no reason to bloom again. He has already fulfilled his task (the propagation) with the formation of his seeds.

Biennial or perennial - foxglove species

There are numerous species of foxgloves. They differ, among other things, in their life expectancy. Most species, such as foxgloves, are biennials by nature. Very few species are perennial. But they all have in common that they wither away after an average of 3 years.

Foxglove species that are biennial but can be grown perennial (by cutting off the flower stalks) are listed here:

  • Yellow Foxglove
  • Large-flowered foxglove
  • Woolly Thimble
  • Rusty Foxglove
  • Dark Foxglove
  • Small-flowered foxglove
  • Turkish thimble

tips and tricks

Keep your eyes open: in garden centers and hardware stores, foxglove plants that bloom in summer are sometimes offered. If you want to enjoy these plants for a long time, don't buy them, sow them. They fade quickly and can be thrown away.

Category:

Vegetable garden