Strawberry Foxglove Plants

Strawberry Foxglove

Digitalis x mertonensis - better known as the strawberry foxglove lives up to its name. It has the typical foxglove form, with flower spikes to 75cm but it is the colour that is its main selling point - a wonderful pinky-mauve with a copper tint, making it a real eye-catcher - very much the colour of crushed strawberries. Each individual flower is 5cm long, the biggest of the foxgloves and slightly flattened like a trumpet.

A winner of the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit, you can be sure of good garden performance. The flower spikes grow from semi-evergreen, dark green rosettes of leaves. It's not as vigorous as other foxgloves but is longer-lived than most and prefers more moist soil than other varieties.

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Great In Your Garden...

The strawberry foxglove's subdued colouring lends it to more restrained and formal planting schemes but it also looks great in a wildlife or cottage garden setting - bees and butterflies love it.

Foxgloves are great for beginners but remember all parts of the plant are very poisonous. As well as growing in partial, dappled and even full shade, Digitalis x mertonensis will tolerate a sunny spot too but doesn't like a very dry spot.

For more flowers, remove the spent main flower stem before it can set seed and more blooms will be produced from side shoots. If you want them to self-seed, leave these alone.

Features

• Colour: Mauve/pink blooms with a copper tinge.
• Flowering: June to July.
• Foliage: Dark green leaves.
• Height: 75cm.
• Spread: 50cm.
• Spacing: 50cm.
• Shade tolerant
• Any decently drained soil
• RHS Plants for Pollinators 
• RHS Award of Garden Merit 

Did You Know...

The strawberry foxglove is the result of an early 19th century cross between Digitalis grandiflora and Digitalis purpurea. It's also listed sometimes as Digitalis x fulva.

Caution toxic if eaten
Foxgloves are called digitalis, which is a well-known poison but also is used as a drug for heart problems.

<li>RHS Plants for Pollinators</li>

Plant in sun/partial/full shade in any soil type but avoid over dry areas. Add compost to the planting hole, spacing 50cm apart. Water until established. Can be used in large containers. May get aphids and powdery mildew.

Feed with general-purpose fertiliser in spring and water in dry spells. Watch out for aphids and powdery mildew. Remove the main stem when flowers fade for the second flush. Self-seeds freely.