Foxgloves are relatively easy plants to grow and maintain. They are fascinating additions to any garden, which is why they are the favorites of several gardeners. However, despite their attractive features and easy maintenance, foxgloves must be in perfect growing conditions to thrive.
To provide them with the best conditions possible, you can inadvertently make mistakes, which could result in one issue or another.
Fortunately, you can solve most of these problems; in this article, we have highlighted the most common foxglove gardening mistakes and problems with how to fix them.
Jump to:
- Common Foxglove Gardening Mistakes & How to Fix Them
- 1. Planting in the Wrong Spot
- 2. Not Testing Soil
- 3. Overwintering Failure
- 4. Incorrect Watering & Soil Drainage
- 5. Mulching Too Much or Too Little
- 6. Lack of Nutrients
- 7. Neglecting Pest Threats
- 8. Planting Too Close
- Common Foxglove Gardening Problems & How to Fix Them
- 1. Verticillium Wilt
- 2. Absence of Flower Spikes
- 3. Foxgloves Look Shabby as Summer Progresses
- 4. Leaf Spots on Foxgloves
- 5. Powdery Mildew
- 6. Aphids & Mealybugs
- Conclusion
Common Foxglove Gardening Mistakes & How to Fix Them
1. Planting in the Wrong Spot
Some beginner gardeners often rush into planting their foxglove without determining if the planting area is best for the plant.
As a gardener, one of the first requirements is living by the adage, 'right plant, right place,' which implies matching foxglove's light requirements and soil preferences to the planting site.
Foxglove is a sun-loving plant that prefers full sun to partial shade areas. It is a biennial plant; hence you must find the right amount of sunshine for it depending on your climate.
For south-living growers, foxgloves prefer some shade, as the full sun will be too hot for them. While in the north, they will do best in full sun, even though some shade is tolerated.
How to Fix Them
- Check your plant's label in the garden center or consult a plant encyclopedia.
- Combine your garden's light and soil features alongside foxgloves that do best in those situations for a winning combo.
- The location of your foxgloves should depend on your region southerners require more shade than light, while for northerners, the reverse seems to be the case.
2. Not Testing Soil
The use of earth varies from one location of your garden to another. One of the most common mistakes you must avoid when growing foxgloves is failure to test the soil before planting.
Without a soil test, you'll hardly know what nutrient is present in your soil and may not know precisely what fertilizer you need to apply to your ground for your foxgloves to do well.
How to Fix Them
- You must test the soil every year or two, as it can change from one growing season to another.
- Note that foxgloves thrive best in rich, well-draining soil, slightly acidic, with a pH of 5.5 to 6.5.
3. Overwintering Failure
You can pull up and discard some foxgloves after blooming ends in late summer, as they generally do not come back again.
Annual plants that are yet to flower must be covered using a thick layer of dried leaves or mulch once the ground gets cold in late fall or early winter to enable the soil temperature to remain at an average level in the winter.
How to Fix Them
- Ensure you promptly remove the mulch during the spring to prevent crown rot.
- You can allow a few old plants around so they can self-seed in the garden.
- But during the spring, pull them out and discard them to prevent reblooming.
- Wear gloves when handling foxgloves to avoid absorbing small amounts of toxins via the skin.
4. Incorrect Watering & Soil Drainage
Watering is an essential routine as long as foxgloves are concerned, as it determines how healthy and productive your plants will become.
In other words, if you water them incorrectly, it can kill your foxglove blooms. It's not difficult to get the watering frequency and rate wrong as it is determined by each season.
Since foxgloves come from Europe, where there's average but frequent rainfall, overwatering them could lead to suffocation of their roots and even death.
On the other hand, they shouldn't lack water to prevent the flower from drying out and absorbing and distributing essential nutrients from the soil.
Soil also plays a crucial role in this case. For instance, any soil with drainage issues will result in too much water, even if you pour just a tiny amount of water.
How to Fix Them
- Water your foxgloves every week at most, depending on your climate.
- Increase your watering rate in hotter or sunnier seasons, and minimize it in colder weather.
- Repotting is required to release the soil from its compact nature.
- Your soil must have proper airflow if the foxglove is too heavy or oversized to be moved effortlessly.
5. Mulching Too Much or Too Little
The fact that we recommend you apply mulch to your foxglove doesn't mean you should use too much of it. Meanwhile, it is not good to mulch too little too. Below are the best ways and steps to mulch your foxgloves.
How to Fix Them
- A 3-inch layer of organic mulch, such as shredded bark, will help deter weeds and retain moisture in the soil for too long.
- When applying your mulch, let them stay 2 to 3 inches away from every plant's crown or growing point.
- If you mulch too close or above the crown, it will attract diseases or gradually suffocate your plant.
- Apply a fresh layer of mulch annually since mulch breaks down over time.
- Spread a thick layer of 6 to 8 inches of mulch to your foxgloves to protect fall-grown ones from unfavorable winter conditions.
- If you spread a mulch blanket to newly planted foxgloves during late fall, try to get rid of it in early spring to let the soil warm up better as air temperatures increase.
6. Lack of Nutrients
As long as foxgloves are concerned, they'll require a healthy amount of nutrients to grow healthy.
Although there's no stipulated amount of nutrients in the soil, they will need to be renewed from time to time to prevent nutrient deficiency from resulting in several visual symptoms appearing when the foxglove blooms begin to die.
Meanwhile, fertilizer selection is usually based on the NPK ratio.
How to Fix Them
- The most suitable NPK ratio for foxgloves is 10-10-10.
- The number of times you fertilize will depend on several factors like soil medium and plant's maturity. So, you have to test the soil with a soil testing kit to know more about the current state of the soil.
7. Neglecting Pest Threats
Another common foxglove gardening mistake among gardeners is neglecting the pest factor. Foxgloves are familiar with several pests like aphids and mealybugs, and they could all attack foxglove blooms. The control remedies you use are dependent on the pest you are tackling.
How to Fix Them
- You can use materials like food-grade diatomaceous earth to remedy pest disasters.
- You can adopt the use of appropriate fungicides to control them
- Handpicking can also be adopted for some pests.
8. Planting Too Close
Some foxglove species can expand and consume more space over two years. Therefore, consider their potential width and height if you want to add new plants.
Planting foxgloves too close to each other or in a crowded area will necessitate disease attacks on your garden.
How to Fix Them
- Pick growing spots based on the foxglove's full size in terms of structures and pathways and other plants close to them.
- Create enough space amongst your plants, as initially, they will require it for proper air circulation around their roots.
Common Foxglove Gardening Problems & How to Fix Them
1. Verticillium Wilt
Verticillium wilt is the most dangerous wilt that affects foxgloves, and it is caused by fungus lying dormant in the soil. Allowing the verticillium wilt to infect your plant can result in yellowing, drooping, and dropping of foliage and significantly wilting your plant.
Meanwhile, verticillium wilt often attacks in cool temperatures. It spreads from the basal leaves to the outer leaves. At this rate, your foxglove may not recover.
How to Fix Them
- Remove and bin any affected leaves and roots.
- Put daisies in a sunny area and only water when needed.
- If your plant displays signs of stem rot, the problem is too severe to be treated, so it needs to be discarded.
- Avoid growing in a similar spot where the disease lives in the soil.
- Again, you can use a fungicide to treat some stem rot issues.
2. Absence of Flower Spikes
Several nursery plants are planted, so they are supposed to produce blooms. However, you could also have discovered that you bought plants still in their first growing year.
In that case, it could also be expected for foxglove seeds grown directly in the garden not to develop flower spikes until their second year. So, you have to know the actual problem.
How to Fix Them
- If your foxglove is producing just a basal rosette of leaves without bloom spikes, allow it to remain there until the following year, as there's hope it'll bloom in the second year.
- Sometimes, third-year plants fail to flower, so you can uproot them and discard them.
3. Foxgloves Look Shabby as Summer Progresses
It is not entirely strange for foxgloves to start looking untidy with the coming summer heat. The effects of the summer sun can cause the flower stalks to seem shabby. You can trim down the bloom stalks to the basal rosette at this stage.
How to Fix Them
- Once the flower stalks have been eliminated, you can encourage the plant's production of second bloom appearing as the weather cools in early fall.
- Or Uproot the whole plant from the ground immediately blooming period has ended, but it should be only the second-year foxgloves that have finished their blooming cycle.
- Ensure you don't uproot first-year seedlings since they must first overwinter before they reach their second-year flowering cycle.
4. Leaf Spots on Foxgloves
Leaf spots on foxgloves often appear whenever there's warm and wet weather, or they're growing inside a pot in the garden with humid and stable air.
If you drain the soil poorly or if the area is very shaded, it will result in leaf spots. The oldest and lowest leaves are usually the first to produce spots.
How to Fix Them
- You can prevent leaf spots by growing plants in well-drained soil, ensuring you space them 1 to 1½ feet from other plants to control crowding.
- Water foxgloves during morning hours to let the leaves dry off in the day's heat.
- Once the plants have bloomed, dig them up and discard them while you grow new plants in a different spot every year.
- You can use copper fungicides to control leaf spots on ornamental plants, but make sure it is safe for use and follow the labeled instructions.
5. Powdery Mildew
Another problem with foxgloves is that they can be prone to powdery mildew. Its signs often appear during late summer once the blooms are spent.
You'll discover powdery, white patches on the upper or lower leaves, and seriously infected leaves die and fall off. This disease loves temperatures between 60 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
How to Fix Them
- Foxgloves need sunny locations to help prevent powdery mildew but beware of too much sunlight to avoid scorching the plants.
- There's no need to splash the leaves during watering, as water helps to eradicate powdery mildew.
- Avoid excess fertilization as it boosts the development of powdery mildew; therefore, apply slow-release fertilizer pellets around your foxgloves to offer plant nutrients.
- You can control this disease using recommended fungicides like neem oil, horticultural oils, jojoba oil, sulfur, and potassium bicarbonate.
- Before you apply any of them on your plant, make sure that it is safe to use on foxgloves, and sprinkle them following due instructions on the package.
6. Aphids & Mealybugs
Aphids and mealybugs are among the most common diseases with foxgloves. Aphids are soft, pear-shaped insects with various colors, including green, black, brown, yellow, or red. On the other hand, mealybugs are oval-shaped, segmented insects with pale wax color.
They both feast on plant sap in clusters of foxglove stalks and leaves; however, mealybugs prefer shaded spots between a stem and a leaf.
Even though they are not very dangerous in small numbers, they can cause devastating issues in large groups, including stunted growth and damage.
How to Fix Them
- You must inspect the plants twice weekly, checking underneath the leaves and all sections.
- Wipe off any present insects using a jet of water from a garden hose.
- You can also handpick them if you don't want to harm your plants through the water splash.
- Again, use a pruning shear to snip off the affected leaves and disinfect the shears.
- Try not to use insecticides as they tend to eliminate aphid and mealybug predators.
- Another option is to apply horticultural oil or soap following due instructions on the product's packet.
Conclusion
Apart from the little mistakes here and there, growing foxgloves is relatively easy, as long as you provide them with the right growing conditions.
However, these mistakes can be prevented and controlled if you know and follow the appropriate measures we have highlighted above.
