A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 wilting foxglove

I planted foxgloves from seed last year and was delighted when they began flowering this spring. However, some of the plants started flowering then the stems started to brown and the plants have lost the flowers and the stems have broken in half. Does anyone know what causes this? Also I'm assuming that they are the biennel foxglove and was wondering if they will seed themselves for a new showing next year.

I had a similar problem with a couple of mine...the leaves turned brown and then the whole plant. It looked like some type of viral or bacterial infection, but I'm not sure. I ended up digging up the infected plants and throwing them away. Foxgloves do reseed, so you may get more for next year. Foxgloves usually need to be staked to prevent them from breaking.

Andi,
You wouldn't happen to have a photo would you??

Mine are just starting to make flowers,
you must be in a zone higher than me...

Where they done completely flowering for you???
Very curious..
A picture may very well help and tell us..
Would be appreciated....

Will post a picture, but it was from when they just started blooming a couple of weeks ago. I have about ten of them all together. The one in the picture is over six feet and just about finished. Four to five feet in the picture. I have staked them all. The ones that bent over did it at the point of staking and weren't nearly as tall. Now how to a post a picture?

Go to www.photobucket.com *that's where most of us have accounts.. it's free, like 250 pictures worth (Or something like that)...
then when you picture is posted there, copy the URL for that one photo, come to this post, go to the FULL REPLY FORM, and click on IMAGE button..
paste your URL into there and ADD REPLY button..

Any help, just give a holler to one of the hostesses, *or just about any of the regulars here and they'll be able to lend you a hand..

~~~~~>Always glad to help..

this is one of the ten ... it's still pretty healthy looking, about 6ft. now. The plants to the left of it however ... stems have turned brow and plant has wilted. Never finished flowering. Photobucket

well that didn't work let me try again!!!!

web page
let's see if this works!

One suggestion- use taller stakes, ones that go almost to the top of the plant in bloom...that will help prevent it from breaking at the point where the stake stops.

this is my poor wilting foxglove, the one beside it still thriving... they were magnificient looking, was very impressed with myself. web page Is it possible there is bore attacking the plant? Thanks for the help Weezie, think I really like this Photobucket site.

When I orginally staked them I never in a million years thought they would get to 6ft. Perhaps I should have used taller stakes, but I don't think that has anything to do with the wilting. The one that is 6ft. has similar size stake (will be changing today) and it is doing wonderfully.

Oh and another question, is this foxglove a perennial or biennial? Have another foxglove but leaves not nearly as large, are more spear shaped, and flower is a butter yellow. plants only ever get about 4ft. It also doesn't flower as long

It's a biennial...
but the base of it can re~send up shoots..
so, it can theoretically live for several seasons..

But mostly the seeds will re~seed for you allll over the place...


On the bent flowers....
Just outta curiousity,
is this in a traffic area, to the front door??
or a back door, a walk way???
Do you have kids???
Neighbors??
Kids passing thru your yard??

Almost, at this view, looks like someone did it
on purpose...
I have never had to stake any of my foxgloves,
in fact, I never even touch mine..
not even water...

And Photobucket is pretty simple to work....
I tried Webshots, and couldn't for the life of me figure it out, so I snuck a peak at it after Cindy *Afgreyparrot* suggested it..
It was soooo easy to do it, I figured it out all on my own there... so, I recommend it to everyone...

Can you get a closer shot of the actual spot
where the break is?????

Weezie,
My garden is located on the side of our house. There is a walkways but it has access only to the garden as there is a 5 ft. fence two feet from the garden with gated arbor at entrance. Yes to neighbors, pets, and kids. Neighbors can only get into garden if they climb the fence (dog eared shadow box fence)or go around to the other side of house through yard. Kids are teens and have no interested ... here's a picture of the foxglove that bent in half web page

here is a picture of one that's wilting but hasn't bent in half as of yet.
web page

and this is a picture of my favorite place on earth, next to my greenhouse! web page

don't know where my last posted ended up at ... not where I inteneded. It's a picture of the garden and the only access is through a gated arbor ... soooo will try again web page

tried twice now to include a picture of the garden ... guess it's floating out there somewhere in cyber space ...

oh silly me ... these are on the second page aren't they ... can ya tell I'm blonde?