Yellow foxglove
Digitalis grandiflora ·
A truly perennial foxglove with spires of soft, pale yellow, brown-netted bells in early summer. It returns reliably for years.
- Size
- 2½ ft tall, 18 in wide
- Zones
- 3 to 8
- Light
- Full sun to part shade
- Flowers
- Early June to mid July
- Pets
- Toxic (severe)
- Job in a bed
- Accent
A bed built around yellow foxglove
The planner designed this bed around yellow foxglove when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) cottage garden in zone 6, part sun. It chose the other plants from the 708 that suit those conditions, and says below why yellow foxglove stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Yellow foxglove × 3, yellow
- 2 Bloody cranesbill × 5, pink
- 3 Robin's plantain 'Lynnhaven Carpet' × 8, lavender
- 4 Garden phlox 'David' × 3, white
- 5 Globe arborvitae 'Danica' × 1, green leaves
- 6 Blue wood aster × 5, lavender
- 7 Grecian windflower × 12, blue
Why this plant
- The only spires. The others are open bowls, daisies and dense clusters. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only yellow. The one hot colour: every other flower here is cool or neutral.
Why here
- In the middle. At 2½ ft it is the step between bloody cranesbill (12 in) in front and blue wood aster (3 ft) behind: each is seen over the one before.
- A step in the back row. Next to blue wood aster (3 ft) and garden phlox 'David' (3½ ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- 3 plants in 3 places. An accent is a punctuation mark: the repeat along the bed gives it rhythm.
Why now
- In flower for six weeks. From early June to mid July.
- Part of the bed's peak. With bloody cranesbill and garden phlox 'David' in mid July: 3 kinds at once. No week has more.
Planned as a cottage garden: 25 of the 25 plants (100%), bulbs aside, stand alone or in groups of no more than five, small enough for the kinds to mingle. The front edge is finished with bloody cranesbill and Robin's plantain 'Lynnhaven Carpet'. Cool colours (pink, lavender and blue) with yellow as the warm note, and white to calm things between them.
The planner's own design check: 11 Excellent, 6 Good.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where yellow foxglove goes in a border
At 2½ ft it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium (24 in to 2½ ft).
Its job: accent. An upright plant used singly, like a punctuation mark, and repeated at intervals to give the bed rhythm.
The quiet, creamy yellow goes with everything, and because it is perennial it holds its place where the common foxglove wanders. Dot it singly among hostas and ferns.
- Soft yellow spires for part shade
- A foxglove that does not need replacing
- Woodland edges
What to plant with yellow foxglove
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Hosta: its green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; bold leaves against its medium ones; a low mound at the foot of its spires.
- Astilbe: in flower together for four weeks, from late June; happy in the same moist soil.
- Lady's mantle: in flower together for five weeks, from early June; a low mound at the foot of its spires; low enough (18 in) to stand in front of it.
Questions about yellow foxglove
Does yellow foxglove need sun or shade?
Yellow foxglove grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day), part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun) and part shade (2 to 4 hours of sun, mostly in the morning).
It wants soil that stays evenly moist, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does yellow foxglove grow in?
USDA zones 3 to 8. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °C).
Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does yellow foxglove flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers early June to mid July. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 3 | Mid June to mid July |
|---|---|
| Zone 4 | Mid June to mid July |
| Zone 5 | Early June to mid July |
| Zone 6 | Early June to mid July |
| Zone 7 | Late May to early July |
| Zone 8 | Late May to early July |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should yellow foxglove be planted?
16 in (40 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 18 in (45 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 2½ ft (75 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many yellow foxglove plants do I need?
At 16 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 7 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 8 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 21 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as one at a time, repeated along the bed at intervals; a slender one reads better as a clump of three.
In the bed above, the planner used three in three groups.
Is yellow foxglove poisonous to dogs and cats?
Yes: severe toxicity to people, dogs, cats and horses. All parts are highly poisonous if eaten and can affect the heart.
What flowers after yellow foxglove?
Yellow foxglove is over by mid July. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Black-eyed Susan: from mid July to mid September, 24 in tall.
- Lilyturf: from early August to mid September, 16 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Bee balm: from early July to early August, 3 ft tall.
What does yellow foxglove look like in winter?
Yellow foxglove holds some of its leaves into winter, more in a mild year or a sheltered spot, and they look tired by March. Cut the old ones off as new growth starts.
More Digitalis
- Foxglove Digitalis purpurea
- Foxglove 'Dalmatian Purple' Digitalis purpurea 'Dalmatian Purple'
- Rusty foxglove Digitalis ferruginea
- Straw foxglove Digitalis lutea
- Strawberry foxglove Digitalis x mertonensis
In these guides
Zone guides: Zone 3 · Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 2½ ft (75 cm) tall, 18 in (45 cm) wide
- Plant
- 16 in (40 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium (24 in to 2½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- Early June to mid July; upright spires; yellow
- Leaves
- Medium texture, semi-evergreen; green
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 8
- Light
- Full sun, part sun, part shade
- Soil
- Average, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
Checked against VASCAN (plants of Canada). Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.