Digitalis purpurea 'Sugar Plum'
foxglove 'Sugar Plum'
A semi-evergreen biennial or short-lived perennial, to 1.2m high in flower, with ovate to lance-shaped dark green leaves. Tall spikes bear nodding, tubular to bell-shaped pale pink flowers with deep reddish-purple blotches in the throats, from early to late summer
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Size
Ultimate height
1–1.5 metresTime to ultimate height
1–2 yearsUltimate spread
0.1–0.5 metresGrowing conditions
Moisture
Moist but well–drained, Well–drainedpH
Acid, Alkaline, NeutralColour & scent
| Stem | Flower | Foliage | Fruit | |
| Spring | Green | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summer | Pink Purple Red | Green | ||
| Autumn | Green | |||
| Winter | Green |
Position
- Full sun
- Partial shade
Aspect
East–facing or South–facing or West–facing
Exposure
Exposed or Sheltered Hardiness
H6Botanical details
- Family
- Plantaginaceae
- Native to GB / Ireland
- No
- Foliage
- Semi evergreen
- Habit
- Bushy, Columnar upright
- Potentially harmful
- TOXIC if eaten. Wear gloves and other protective equipment when handling TOXIC to pets - see the HTA guide to potentially harmful plants for further information and useful contact numbers
- Genus
Digitalis can be biennials or usually short-lived perennials forming a rosette of simple leaves with bell-shaped flowers in slender, erect, usually one-sided racemes
- Name status
Unresolved
How to grow
Cultivation
Will grow in almost any soil or situation except very wet or very dry; ideally a sheltered, warm site with humus-rich soil in light or partial shade. See foxglove cultivation for more detailed advice
Propagation
Propagate by seed, sown in pots in a cold frame in late spring for flowering the following year. Seeds sown in January, in a protected environment at 15-18°C, may produce flowers in late summer of the first year
Suggested planting locations and garden types
- City and courtyard gardens
- Coastal
- Cottage and informal garden
- Wildlife gardens
- Flower borders and beds
Pruning
Deadhead to encourage more flowers (unless seeds are required)
Pests
May be susceptible to aphids, leaf and bud eelworms, slugs and snails
Diseases
May be susceptible to powdery mildews, downy mildews and leaf spot
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