When do i sow foxglove seeds

If you have friends with foxgloves in their garden they will probably be delighted to give you some of their seeds. Alternatively you can buy a packet of seeds for just a couple of pounds and choose the colours and height that you prefer. The bright pink wild form is Digitalis purpurea. Foxgloves also come in white and cream and lovely pastel pinks and peachy apricot too. Many of them have beautiful markings inside each bloom which acts like a landing strip for bees and other pollinating insects.

Foxglove seeds need light to germinate. I prefer to start them off indoors in trays of compost. I have found that sowing a tiny pinch of seed in just 10 cells of a module tray is the best way to raise Foxgloves. If you aim to sow just 10 seeds in 10 cells then you will have Foxglove plants. That should be enough for most gardens! They will develop into nice healthy seedlings which can be pricked out into their own individual cell to grow on.

You can pot them on as they grow then plant them outside when you are ready. Foxgloves are really woodland edge plants. Like most woodland plants their broad leaves will make the most of the sunshine in early spring before the leaves form on deciduous trees.

And then wooosh… up come the flowers in late spring. They prefer partially shaded positions and moisture retentive soil. Add a 2- to 4-inch-deep layer of compost over the soil and dig it into the top 12 to 15 inches of the garden bed, mixing and blending it thoroughly.

Amending the soil is most important in clay soil conditions, but even in sandy and loamy soil, adding compost improves the growing environment. Foxglove seeds need light to germinate. The best way to plant foxglove seeds is by surface sowing them, which means simply scattering the seeds on top of the soil. Aim for a spacing of about 1 inch between seeds.

Pricking out foxglove seedlings is done once the plants are established. Thin them to a spacing of 12 to 24 inches between plants to prevent overcrowding. Gently rake the seeds into the soil but avoid burying them or they will fail to germinate. After planting, give the area a good soaking to dampen the soil 1 to 2 inches deep. Make sure your hands are dry to stop the seed sticking. Sprinkle the seed evenly over the compost.

The seeds need light to germinate, so leave them uncovered. This charming hardy climber creates a canopy of glossy green foliage, which in summer is strewn with flat white panicles of flowers on long stems. Add colour to your garden this winter, select from pansy 'Colourburst', 'Grande Fragrance', wallflower 'Wizard' and viola 'Valentino'.

A superb evergreen bearing delicate, waxy, bell-shaped flowers in the depths of winter, with lush green foliage for year-round interest. Making a shallow drill using a length of bamboo cane. Watering the drill. Sowing foxglove seed. Raking the soil over the drill. Double up for 1P more. Evergreen climbing hydrangea. Buy now for year-round interest.