Foxglove seedlings

Dirty Harry

I collected seed form the perennial Digitalis × mertonensis and have a dozen healthy seedlings now.

Can anyone tell me if there's any chance they will be like the parent plant or will cross pollination mean they're likely to revert back to the regular type foxglove?

Fairygirl

They'll not be like the parent Harry.
They might be half and half, but if  there's any other foxgloves around, you'll get a cross of some kind. 

Dirty Harry

I take it the only way for it to work would be to only have Digitalis × mertonensis around the garden?

nutcutlet

as a hybrid it has the genes of both its parents

JennyJ

Digitalis x mertonensis is a hybrid itself, so even if there were no other foxgloves nearby, it might not come true from seed.  As it is, they could potentially have been pollinated with any kind of foxglove within range of the insects doing the job, not just within your garden.  Your seedlings could be interesting! Why not grow them on and see what you get?

Dirty Harry

That's exactly what I'll be doing, seems unlikely they'll flower next year though from what I've read. 

Guernsey Donkey2

I am aiming to plant my seedlings outside in the next week or so.  There is a small chance that they may flower next summer, but usually they take a couple of years to mature enough to produce the flower spikes.  Good luck Dirty Harry.

Dirty Harry

Small update. Been meaning to prick these out further for a while but lack of drive and cold weather has put me off. Finally got it done today-

October-

Today-

Guernsey Donkey2

They look good and healthy, I would keep them somewhere warm until all chances of frost have past and the roots are showing at the bottom of the pot before planting out..

Dirty Harry

Surely they'd be fine in the cold frame where they've already been over winter?

nutcutlet

yes, they would, a cold frame is relatively warm on a sunny day and gets them growing faster.