RE: digitalis
- To: "'perennials@mallorn.com'"
- Subject: RE: digitalis
- From: R* G*
- Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1998 13:25:54 -0500
Barbara and Valerie ---
Digitalis 'Foxy' as it is currently produced is mostly a first-year blooming
biennial. What happens is that the plant sends up a bloomstalk the first
year (assuming spring sowing), and when that bloomstalk dies, most of the
plants will form a basal rosette which will then go on to bloom in year two,
just like a biennial. I have found that 'Foxy' blooms >90% first-year, but
that survival as a rosette into year two is not so good, maybe 50% at best.
The biennial 'Excelsior' has almost no blooming plants in year one.
The perennial species D. ambigua (D. grandiflora), D. lutea, and D. lanata
will both throw a few first-year blooming plants from seed. I have
collected these to see if this can be made consistent. The first-year
blooming selections that I have from both grandiflora and lutea have
continued to be reliable perennials. None of the first-year blooming lanata
(and there were only three out of 100 or so seedlings) survived over a
relatively mild winter.
Rick Grazzini
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