Digitalis lutea or small yellow foxglove has been cultivated in British gardens since the 16th century and was probably established in American gardens by 1800. Its slender stalks of pale yellow blossoms are very striking in partly shaded locations against a dark green background. The plants form leafy clumps their first season from seed and flower the second. They are short-lived perennials, but self-sow readily and perpetuate themselves in the garden. “Yellow-flowered Foxglove” is listed in Philadelphia nurseryman Bernard McMahon’s book, The American Gardener’s Calendar, 1806, as a “hardy, fibrous rooted perennial”. Nineteenth-century American garden writer Joseph Breck recommended this species in his book, The Flower Garden (1851). Deer avoid all Digitalis species. Because small yellow foxgloveis an evergreen perennial that is short-lived, it should be frequently divided. It does self-sow and will naturalize if some seed stems are allowed to mature. CAUTION: All parts of this plant are toxic & may be fatal if ingested.

A Northern Sunset Perennial, it prefers rich, moist to well-drained soil in part shade to part sun.

Image courtesy of Ivy Garth Seeds