Foxglove seedlings

Latimer

Good morning all.

I stopped some foxglove seeds in a tray back in July which germinated nicely. Done had grown quite big (a couple of inches) but mostly they were all still quite small. The larger ones I've pricked out into 2" pots and the smaller ones into a module tray with 1" modules.

Where do these need to live now? Are they ok outside in a sheltered spot? Do they need to go under cover in the winter (November onward)? If they do will a cold frame be good enough?

I'm assuming these are fairly tough little plants!!

Fairygirl

Outside. They need no cossetting - it would actually be bad for them 

Dirty Harry

They'll be tough enough outside.

Latimer

Thanks @Fairygirl and @Dirty Harry !! 😀

Fairygirl

You can keep them somewhere where they won't get annihilated by the wind etc, which saves you having to keep sorting them.
I sometimes shove small pots in the border under shrubs, which means I don't have to bother about them in any way. They can cope with anything our winter throws at them, and I never have to look at them until spring. They get enough protection from all the snow/ice/frost/wind/rain, and don't dry out either 

Latimer

@Fairygirl unfortunately my shrub game is poor, in that I don't have any!! But I have a secluded little corner that should work

Fairygirl

It's just enough to protect from weather extremes, so a corner somewhere is fine.
When they're in tiny little pots, the biggest problem is them blowing away -  it is here!
I'm too lazy to be constantly going out and checking on stuff too, so it saves the effort 

WildFlower_UK

Jumping in on this previous conversation to also check about my foxglove seedlings! As you can see I have started to pot up the larger seedlings into 9cm pots. Will they grow much more over the winter and need to be potted up again? I plan to keep them in our cold frame. Do they then go in the ground next Spring (2021) and I presume flower the following summer (2022)? Seed was taken from GC bought foxgloves this summer, so this is my first time growing from seed not in a packet 

strelitzia32

You'll probably have better results growing from your own seed vs a packet. After all, they're the same thing (especially where foxgloves are concerned), but where the packet seed has probably sat around for a year, been transported all over the place, gone warm then cold, yours has been carefully and lovingly looked after in pretty constant conditions at home...

Those plants look good. Just leave them be over the winter. If they're in a cold frame they may grow a tiny bit, or they may blacken a bit if it's really cold. They're tough as nails though so just wait until spring then throw them in the border. Foxgloves are meant to be biennial, so if you get the junior plant next year you'll get flowers the year after. However I often find that if conditions are right and the plant gets enough early growth, you can get flowers in the first year (and they often reflower if it's a big clump in a good location). 

WildFlower_UK

strelitzia32 said:

Those plants look good. Just leave them be over the winter. If they're in a cold frame they may grow a tiny bit, or they may blacken a bit if it's really cold. They're tough as nails though so just wait until spring then throw them in the border. Foxgloves are meant to be biennial, so if you get the junior plant next year you'll get flowers the year after. However I often find that if conditions are right and the plant gets enough early growth, you can get flowers in the first year (and they often reflower if it's a big clump in a good location). 

Thanks so much for this advice! I'll leave them where they are and in their current pots over the winter, and plant in the ground in the spring.

Fairygirl

I'd actually put those outside rather than keep them in a cold frame. They'll be properly accustomed to the outdoors then. Just shove them against a wall so that they don't get knocked around in rough weather. My seedlings sit under a bench, or in among shrubs in the border.
They don't need any protection at all. Million %  hardy