Talkback: Saving foxglove seeds - Talkback

02/07/2010 at 22:32

Why on earth would you 'diss' the apricot foxgloves? My seed pods never look like those pictured above do - they get green and and plump, and then in a day or two they shrivel and are gone - very disappointing.

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02/07/2010 at 23:00

Hello InsaniD I think that seed pod you can see is the caterpillar. I have lots of foxgloves,so much so that i have to thin them out often.the white and purple have made a lovely delicate pink one.I am going to collect these seeds and sow them myself insted of letting them self seed as I have the others.This pink one is so pretty.I dont think I have seen Apricot ones,the purple ones are common in my part of Yorkshire.

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02/07/2010 at 23:09

InsaniD I must be more tired than I thought,I have just noticed the top photo of seed pods when I scroled sorry.I think I had better go to bed,it's been a long day.

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02/07/2010 at 23:34

I am told skimea japonica require both male and female plants to produce berries. Yet I have one olympic flame which has always produced berries and this year has been by far the most prolific.

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02/07/2010 at 23:41

Sorry I've just posted a comment in the wrong place - must be the heat!

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03/07/2010 at 09:33

hiya,i have just brought 5 foxgloves or digitails[if thats right],they are white and purple,do i just leave in ground and they will sow seed themselves,they are in flower now and look really lovely,im a bit confused as the lady at garden centre said they die off each year,and i have to replace them every year!!! so im unsure.also i was wondering about holyhocks is it to late to buy them and also do all of them get rust??

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03/07/2010 at 11:42

PS - Richard Jones suggests the caterpillar is that of the angel shades moth. Reply to InsaniD - sorry I just don't feel the same about apricot foxgloves as I do white and purple. The pink ones sound lovely though dreamer. Reply to Sarahs pondlife - foxgloves are biennial so once they've flowered they will die. You shouldn't need to replace them with new ones next year, just collect the seeds from the dry seed pods and sow immediately, or leave a pot with compost beneath the spent flowers to catch the seeds. The new foxgloves should germinate within a couple of weeks but won't flower next year - they'll flower the following year. Kate

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03/07/2010 at 15:29

Sarahs pondlife It is not too late to plant Hollyhocks.they do suffer from rust unfortunately,I have used a systemic fungicide successfully.I spray before it appears if possible and after that added to the warter for the roots to take up.They are lovely plants and I think worth a try.

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03/07/2010 at 17:00

Last year I was impressed by the show the foxgloves made at Hanham Court Garden in among the ferns and as I am busy making a new fernery I will be scattering foxglove seeds among my new ferns to try and get the same effect. Luckily I already have established foxgloves, including the perennial yellow one, so I will be able to find one year-old plants in my butterfly garden - I must look for big caterpillars,Kate.

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04/07/2010 at 11:44

thanks dreamer,i have a bit of problem as such...can find holyhocks anywhere in garden centres....also do theses plants come back every year????

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05/07/2010 at 22:39

Sarahs pondlife Hollyhocks are biennial like the foxglove I started my hollyhocks from a packet and now they self sow or I collect the seed. some have suvived and had a second year of flowers but that is not the norm with biennials.The first season is leaves that are winter hardy and they flower the season after.

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07/07/2010 at 09:25

I have several wonderful fox gloves which are just finishing flowering and I want to know how to collect the seeds and sow them for next year rather than let them self seed. Can anyone help please

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07/07/2010 at 15:37

i love foxgloves they self seed everywhere its great to be able to give them away to friends

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07/07/2010 at 20:42

I have two weeny baby foxglove plants which have self seeded in with an INDOOR plant, which lives upstairs on the landing! How has that happened?

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07/07/2010 at 21:32

reply to Scullybooks the seed pods turn brown when ripe.when the flowers die they leave a fat green pod that will dry and go brown,I cut the stem off and tip it upside down into a paper bag.You can hear the seeds fall into the bag,there's millions.You could put the bag over the stem first and secure it round the stem before cutting so it is less likely that seeds fall where they are not wanted.

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09/07/2010 at 11:38

I've saved Lupin seeds as well.

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10/07/2010 at 16:32

Last year I sowed some white foxglove seeds. In the autumn I planted out 7 healthy plants. They came through the hard winter and have grown on to be big, healthy plants – but without any sign of a flower! The wild, pink ones and the other pale pink ones I grew have all flowered well, so please, where have I gone wrong?

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11/07/2010 at 10:03

Dear Dreamer, thank you so much. Yes the spikes have the green pods at the moment so I will watch and wait and collect them as you say. I love the fox gloves as the slugs and snails don't eat them unlike the many lupins/hollyhocks/delphinims I have planted!

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16/07/2010 at 21:14

I've planted some store bought pot grown foxgloves this spring which are flowering or just about to. I read that as a result of the small sized seeds they require very little cover. My border is mulched with bark over a weed control mesh (cut through for the existing plants) - can I just leave the existing plants and anticipate them to self-sow or do I need to collect and propagate in trays or pots?

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20/07/2010 at 08:38

devon dumpling they may be this years new plants so will flower next year. bigdaddy you can leave them to self-sow and just remove and transplant any that are in the wrong place.when replanting do it when plants are still small but big enough to handle easily and warter well untill establised.this is how i do it as i dont have the space for any more trays and pots.i dont think you will have a problem with the bark or mesh but you could collect a few seeds for a tray as a safe gaurd.