🌸 When to Plant Foxglove

🌸 Flower
Cool Season

Biennial; tall spikes with tubular flowers; toxic if ingested; self-seeds; hummingbird magnet

📅 Planting Calendar by USDA Zone

Select your zone to highlight your exact planting dates. Dates are calculated from each zone's average frost dates.

Find my zone
Zone Last Frost Start Indoors Transplant Direct Sow
Zone 2A May 30 Mar 21 May 2 Apr 18
Zone 3B May 15 Mar 6 Apr 17 Apr 3
Zone 4A May 8 Feb 27 Apr 10 Mar 27
Zone 4B May 1 Feb 20 Apr 3 Mar 20
Zone 5A Apr 25 Feb 14 Mar 28 Mar 14
Zone 5B Apr 18 Feb 7 Mar 21 Mar 7
Zone 6A Apr 21 Feb 10 Mar 24 Mar 10
Zone 6B Apr 10 Jan 30 Mar 13 Feb 27
Zone 7A Apr 5 Jan 25 Mar 8 Feb 22
Zone 7B Mar 28 Jan 17 Feb 28 Feb 14
Zone 8A Mar 20 Jan 9 Feb 20 Feb 6
Zone 8B Mar 12 Jan 1 Feb 12 Jan 29
Zone 9A Feb 28 Dec 20 Jan 31 Jan 17
Zone 9B Feb 15 Dec 7 Jan 18 Jan 4
Zone 10A Feb 1 Nov 23 Jan 4 Dec 21
Zone 10B Jan 15 Nov 6 Dec 18 Dec 4
Zone 11A Jan 1 Oct 23 Dec 4 Nov 20

Foxgloves are dramatic biennials with towering spikes of tubular flowers. Despite their beauty (and toxicity), they’re essential cottage garden plants.

Top Growing Tips

  • All parts are toxic — wear gloves and keep away from children and pets
  • Biennial: sow year 1, blooms year 2, then usually dies after seeding
  • Sow each year for annual flowering; they self-seed readily
  • Hummingbirds and bumblebees love the tubular flowers
  • Shade-tolerant; excellent for dappled light under trees

Companion Planting

Good companions: roses, ferns, hostas, astilbe

Avoid planting near: Handling without gloves — all parts toxic if ingested

Harvest Timeline

Ornamental; deadhead after peak bloom to extend flowering